Game Queen and Then Some
by Borath
Summary: Complete Yami gets turned into a woman. Yami gets pregnant. Kaiba is the father. And then his life takes even more insane turns... Rating upped due to swearing and being fussy and me not risking over 300 reviews. mpreg
1. Strip

**Game Queen and Then Some**

By Borath

Categories: Humour, drama and romance eventually.

Rating: Pg13 will do I think. There are swear words and hints at m/m, although I don't actually write anything squick-worthy. There is some 'ahem' in this chapter though. Het though (I think it qualifies as it) and no description, just a large build up...

Disclaimer: I own squat. I am not responsible enough to own the Yu-Gi-Oh gang so I won't even pretend too. Would be kinda cool though, wouldn't it?

Erm, a summary. Right. Yami gets dunked in the fountain. Yami becomes a girl. Then a lot of stuff happens. Yes, this story has been done many times before and by people a lot better at writing than me, but I wanted to give it a crack as my first Yugioh-fic.

A/N. To anyone who has unfortunately read all of my fiction (my sympathies), you will already know that I have a lil' obsession with m-preg. No freaky reason, honest! I just like to experiment with how different characters would react to the same scenario. Well, I've never tried it in anime before, so here we go... (That is probably the biggest spoiler for and in any fiction that you will ever read. I just destroyed any surprisee you may receive. Ah well!)

UPDATE (08/07/07): This story was written years ago and has shortcomings that I'm not happy with as a writer. However, I have not got the time to go through the whole thing and edit the parts I'm not happy with. So, pinch of salt please, people. Constructive criticism is fine and fair enough, but I've twigged a lot of it already. It's nice to see people are still reading this and enjoying it, hence the thing still being here with a silly number of reviews. Happy reading!

Japanese and English names are different. I am going with the following because

A; I can spell them

B; My spellchecker only hates half of them, not all of them.

C; They are shorter and therefore take less effort on my part.

Yugi Mutou

Joey Wheeler

Tea Gardner

Honda Hiroto

Seto Kaiba

Mokuba Kaiba

Grandpa

Mai Valentine

Yami and Yugi are separate for, well, the whole fiction. I have never actually seen this so excuse any possible mistakes that sprout up due to my ignorance.

I treat Seto as a human being rather than the total git he is in the anime series. I like the relationship idea so am 'tweaking' to allow for this. Excuse my tweakings. If you don't like them, I actually couldn't care.

I have not watched a lot of the series and am depending on other fanfics for character information. There may be some actions or sentences that are OUC, so forgive me for that. Anything I think I've messed up terribly I have blamed on something, as you will see. You'll also see that it's the same thing every time...

Right, I'll shut up soon and let you read this thing but first I'll warn you in advance that the fact that I have the attention span of a turnip and the patience of a badger with a toothache is quite clear in this fiction. I jump, well, most of the plot, but Yami narrates the bits you miss because I can't be arsed to write them and only want to get down 'the good stuff'. Enjoy all the same though!!!

**Chapter 1 : Strip**

Yami Voice Over (YVO)

//A lot has happened in the last month. Most of it is Joey's fault, and as of such, Joey has wisely stayed out of my sight for the last 4 weeks, but it would have been a helpful distraction. What happened? Well, first Yugi decided it would be nice to visit the Nyannichuan, the Spring of Drowned Girl for those who don't know. As you can guess, Joey was less than enthralled with historical aspects of the fountain and seemed more interested in the fact that there was water. Cue one very brief water fight with Honda that ended with Joey accidentally shoving me head first into the fountain. A glowing, painless, mystical transformation occurred, then I proceeded to beat the blond menace over the head with a bamboo pole before we all went home.

We did some research and it turns out that the curse, which should make me a female version of myself for a week, has become remarkably unpredictably due to the fact that the water in the fountain has been polluted and, well, diluted. Therefore I'm stuck in this form until it wears off. Really stuck. The legend that hot water will return me to my rightful male form either doesn't apply to Yami's or was a lie cruelly concocted just to spite me.

On a more positive note, I am finding that I am gaining a higher respect for women now, so maybe this is all some kind of fated lesson in humility or similar. After experiencing hormones, cramps and, something that even a millennia back in my puzzle wouldn't erase from my memory, a period, I have a longer tether when dealing with women. Well, I did. Then Mai went ahead and effectively destroyed my life.//

Yami and Yugi had been watching television in the living room when Tea appeared in the doorway after disappearing on the phone for half an hour. She stood hesitantly against the frame, still holding the phone, until Yami looked up and asked her what she wanted.

"It's Mai. She needs a favour. Well, actually it's Kaiba who needs the favour. She wants to talk to you," she replied innocently, a restrained smile playing on her lips.

Frowning and having a very bad feeling about what was about to follow, Yami took the phone and went into the next room. Running a slender hand through tri-colour hair that now spilled about her shoulders, she blew aside a piece of golden fringe before daring to speak.

"Mai?"

"Yami! Darling, listen, you owe me and I'm calling you for it. Seto called a few minutes ago, all desperate for a date for some kind of dinner he's having with colleges. Having no life outside of Mokuba and work, he's asking, well, begging me to sort it out for him. Well, I asked Tea and she said no. I'm busy so that leaves-"

"No."

"Listen, if you don't go to this dinner I will tell everyone about that little conversation we had a few weeks ago. You know, the mice or pads one? And the prelude and sequel to that too. Am I convincing you yet?"

The phone was dangerously close to being snapped in half with the way that Yami was squeezing it, her other fist trembling dangerously at her side. A haze had dropped over her eyes and she was picturing nailing Seto to a wall and then choking him on Mai's head.

"Fine, I will attend this dinner, but then all debts I have to you will be nullified. Agreed?" she growled out, knowing that to underestimate Mai would likely be her death.

"Deal. Come over to my house and we'll get you dolled up. You're expected at 7 so you'd better get here now. See you soon!"

Click. That was quite likely the sound of her death, she mused. Sighing in resignation, she grabbed a sandwich from the fridge and shouted that she would be out for the rest of the day, leaving the house immediately for Mai's.

She did not want to go to this dinner. She did not want to sit next to Seto and stare at food for an hour or more. And she certainly did not want to dance with him, which was likely going to be expected from her at one of these social gatherings Yugi had explained to her.

She hated Seto. Well, she used to with a lot of energy directed to it when she was male. Now, Yami wasn't too sure. The damned hormones that had been plaguing her existence for the last month were making thoughts concerning the billionaire confusing. Another reason she really did not want to go to dinner with him tonight.

Mai had just been bumped up on Yami's 'cause serious harm to' list, and now she was going to let her stick her in a dress and jewelry. Some higher power really didn't like her right now she decided.

YVO

//It was something close to a nightmare at Mai's house. Admittedly, it was oddly satisfying to see the end result after 3 hours of colour co-ordination, dying, waxing and practicing parading about in shoes that are probably a danger to my health. I'll admit that she did a good job, and she even surprised me by winning the rather fierce argument about wearing a 'wonder-bra'. How she won? It got me out of wearing a corset, which I am pretty certain I don't need. It isn't as uncomfortable as it looked, so I'll live with it.

The journey to the Kaiba mansion, where this dinner and dancing nightmare was being held, was also terrible. Seto sent a car, so I had to ride in silence alone with my thoughts for an hour. I still don't know what I'll say or do, heck, I don't know what he'll be expecting from me. Mai said that she had told him that I was a girl now, and had been for a month already, but I don't think I believe her. Seto has been seriously 'out of the loop' for a while now, so if someone didn't tell him he definitely doesn't know.

I called Yugi earlier and he suddenly cracked up in the middle of a perfectly serious sentence, so he has been put onto my list too. Joey is somewhere near the top though, Mai following closely.

Damn. I really hope that I make it through this night alive.//

If there was ever a time when Yami wanted Yugi's camera, it was now. Seto's face when she emerged out of the car was simply priceless, the expression somewhere between shock, amusement and awe. How he managed that Yami couldn't figure.

The form-hugging gown was corseted from between her shoulder blades down to the small of her back, the lilac material entirely smooth down her stomach. Sleeveless, the gown spilled elegantly about her feet, disguising the fact that she was wearing heels that required an hour of practice in to actually walk. Mai had argued that she would need to additional height to dance with the significantly taller brunette, something that Yami had glared long and hard at her for.

Delicate silver bracelets with matching necklace, earrings and tiara completed the ensemble, Mai having twisted her hair up until it was mostly up, with strands and ringlets framing her face and falling behind her ears.

Remembering himself, Seto walked forward and extended a hand, neatly curling it around Yami's finger before leading her inside.

The butterflies inside her stomach had suddenly been given cricket-bats.

The large dining hall had been decorated majestically and about 40 guests had appeared. Seto had the grace to slip in with Yami with no formal introduction; apparently Mai had told him who she really was.

Dinner was pleasant, Yami tentatively eating a little from her plate, obliging all conversation that came from the others about the table, and curiously enough, Seto himself. The older Kaiba brother seemed happy to talk to Yami for as long as the conversation could be held, and when dinner was over extended a hand out to dance.

Seto seemed to be acting far more relaxed than normal, not bothering too much about business talks with associates or his appearance in terms of behaviour. He was at the office so much he barely unwound, and the result of a few drinks and a good conversation interspersed with light, friendly bickering was a pleasant surprise to Yami. She always knew there was more to him than was originally thought by most people. What exactly that 'more' was was being defined on an hourly basis.

Bloody hormones.

Feeling slightly light-headed Yami didn't decline to dancing with Seto, and found that they could dance together quite smoothly despite her high heels. Drinking a surprising amount of punch, which had a strange yet delightful tang to its taste, they stopped dancing at about 10pm, most of the guests quickly following suit.

"I think this punch is spiked," Seto commented, a slight slur in his tone. Yami nodded vigorously, grinning widely. He looked at her with an amused grin. "You don't drink a lot, do you?"

A few strands of hair dislodged themselves as she shook her head in response, feeling the room spin a little. It was a delightful sensation really!

Without thinking, Seto reached up and hand and captured a few of the strands, twirling the ebony curls absently before cupping her face properly, delighting in how, due to tall heels and precarious balance, supposedly, she leant into his palm.

"Another drink?"

They continued along this trend until the last of the guests finally left, each one more drunk than the last as every alcoholic beverage that had been brought to the party, both before and during it, was consumed. Surveying the mess left behind, Seto had a very loud conversation with the butler, insisting that he take the night off and clean it all up in the morning, before collapsing into the middle of the room laughing with Yami.

"That was funny," she giggled, waving a half-empty glass as she spoke.

"Why funny? I told him to bugger off! He was in the way!" Seto argued defiantly.

"He was loud! 'Really Sir, this is quite unacceptable behaviour'. Why do you have a butler anyway?"

"I'll fire him tomorrow. You spilled your drink. Can I have it?"

"Yeah, sure. I should sleep."

"Sleep later," Seto murmured before lunging forward and pinning Yami down to the carpet, the smaller girl laughing uncontrollably now. Sealing his mouth over the patch of liquid that she had spilled onto her front whilst she swayed, he began alternation between sucking and liking it off, not noticing that the rest of the drink in her glass had spilled down his back when he had tackled her.

"You're wet, you know," Yami observed, her hand meeting the dampness whilst it slid down his spine.

Sitting up, Seto nodded before making a clumsy attempt at removing the jacket. Yami ended up helping, somehow managing not to tear it before throwing it with a laugh onto the floor to the side.

Seto looked at her expectantly. "Your turn."

Yami arched a slender brow in coy surprise. "No fair. I'm already wearing less than you."

"Alright," he agreed before removing the rest of the cloths on the upper part of his body, sitting patiently before her again once he was bare-chested. "Better?"

A smug grin appeared on her face. "Much. My turn." Pulling on the intricate straps about her right shoe, she tossed it triumphantly behind her. Seto copied the action and after several fumbling minutes they were both barefoot.

Yami frowned after a few minutes of silence, which due to her new form looked like a pout, and Seto nudged her shoulder with his hand in a questioning manner, tipping his head to one side as he did so.

"I'm cold now," she said absently, yanking the tiara out of her hair and dropping it to the carpet, watching its descent with interest.

"Oh." Seto paused in deep thought for a few seconds. "Wanna go to bed? It's warm there?"

"Yeah. I don't think I can stand up though,' Yami replied reasonably, falling back instantly when she first tried to stand.

"Oh. I'll help."

True to his word, Seto heaved a remarkably uncooperative Yami to her feet before weaving an arm about her waist, both her hands coming up to cling to his shoulder to remain standing as they made their way upstairs.

Awareness returned slowly and with it a twinge of pain and a disgusting taste. Working her tongue about the fluff in her mouth, Yami opened her eyes slowly in an attempt to figure out where she was.

Thankfully it was still dark meaning that the spinning room didn't nauseate her too much. Shoving her hands down into the plush mattress, she heaved herself up and paused in a grimace at the ache that decided to make itself more apparent. Panic coming now, she looked down to the side and had to clasp a hand over her mouth to prevent the shout of surprise from escaping.

She was in a bed. Seto was in the same bed. Seto was lacking clothing, and a quick glance down confirmed that she was too.

The words 'oh' and 'shit' came into her mind very quickly.

Eyes wide, she slid out of the covers slowly so as not to disturb him, wanting to make as quick and quiet an escape as possible. Collecting her dress up from the floor she tugged it on whilst walking out of the room, opting to go barefoot rather than hunt around for her shoes.

Slipping downstairs and trying very hard to remember what had led to what had undoubtedly happened, Yami made a quick call for a taxi on the phone. Pausing at the open door when she heard it arrive a few minutes later, she shook her head slightly and headed out, climbing silently into the back of the car and setting about tying the top of the back of the dress up to prevent it from falling apart.

Wisely, the driver did not attempt any conversation and took the money Yami handed him without comment.

Yugi was woken by the sound of the door opening and closing, waiting patiently for Yami to come up and return to the puzzle. It was the early hours of the morning and he had not expected his darker counterpart to stay out this long. Yami was often out walking, but was always home by midnight regardless of how much was on her mind.

Getting up after a good 10 minutes of silence, he slipped on a robe and padded downstairs, pausing halfway down and looking over the banister for the young woman.

Frowning when he saw Yami sat on the couch in the dark, knees drawn up to her chin, he walked the rest of the way down and sat beside her, nose crinkling slightly when he reached her.

"God, Yami, you stink! How much did you drink?" he asked seriously, fanning a hand at the smell.

Yami snorted slightly in amusement, a small smile pulling at her lips. "I don't remember. Therein lies the problem," she sighed, knees dropping as her hands came up, the heels of her hands rubbing into her eyes smearing mascara, not that she cared.

"Oh. What happened?" Yugi continued, frowning when he sensed that something serious had occurred.

Yami shook his head in a dismissive gesture. "Don't worry about it Aibou. I doubt it will be a problem. Do you mind if I return to my puzzle now?"

Yugi shook his head so with a small smile and hand ruffling his already disheveled hair, Yami trudged upstairs and sunk into her soul room, closing her mental eyes and resigning to sleep.

TBC


	2. Realization

A/N: Go back to the beginning of chapter 1 if you want all the standard crap. I can't be asked to type it twice.

Shorter than chapter 1 but the pace is picking up!

Chapter 2 : Realization

YVO

//Oh Ra. I still can only remember bits of what happened two weeks ago, but it's enough to figure the rest out. I think Seto had drunk enough not to remember too, and he didn't get the added bonus of waking up and getting the truth thrown in his face either, so in all probability he doesn't know. Well, he hasn't called or anything... Damnit! How pathetic does that sound! Stupid female body. And this curse, which I am hating more and more as time goes on with all the confusion this is causing, shows no signs of wearing off.

My head is seriously screwed up now after what happened, and so in a way I regret not being able to remember all of it. I didn't know how I felt about him before, Ra there was an inkling of liking when I was male! And now this has happened and I don't know what is morally correct so that makes me even more stuck. I'm rambling again, I know. I'm starting to get into these trends now meaning that the group has been giving me strange looks when I debate something with myself.

I feel crap most of the time too now, probably some kind of emotional side-effect. I had to tell someone what happened; I needed a more sane perspective on the whole thing, particularly concerning what to do next. Do I keep my mouth shut and not say anything or have a serious chat with Seto? So, in a moment of desperation, I confessed all to Mai. 

It made sense. I'm not as close to her as I am to the others so I won't really value her opinion or take it to heart. She also helped me through some of the more embarrassing aspects of being a female for the first time, and sorted out most of my new wardrobe. 

Her advice was truly helpful. She said that I shouldn't say anything in case Seto didn't actually remember anything at all, and he should come to me if he remembered and wanted to discuss it, but likely he wouldn't want to talk even if he did remember.

Something inside me clenched when she said that, what exactly I'm not entirely sure. I'm going to need to do some serious thinking about all this before I tie my mind up in any more knots.//

****

Mai was over at the game shop today, rummaging through a box of new cards that had been imported with Yami's help. Her eyes flicked up to the Game King whilst they were both lent over the box, noting how the olive-coloured skin was paler today than she had ever seen.

"Are you alright Yami? You look like crap," she asked quietly, mindful of Yugi and Grandpa at the till.

Yami sighed lightly before answering in an equally soft tone. "I'm fine. I have just got far too much on my mind."

"Whatever you say, but you look like you need to see a doctor."

There was silence for a few more minutes between them as Yami sifted through some new cards with interest, committing their details to memory should they appear in a future duel. Deciding to try a different conversation, Mai spoke again in a quiet voice.

"How are you for sanitary materials? Need any more?" she asked softly, looking up to watch for a blush. She was surprised to see that none came; the first time they had discussed this Yami was positively crimson.

Yami shook her head, eyes still down as she flicked through various cards. "No, and I haven't needed any."

That made Mai frown, eyes darting to Yami who appeared entirely unfazed by the fact. "None at all?"

"No."

"How long since you last used them?" she asked, knowing not to say the word as it made Yami squirm. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the workings of his new body despite having been in it for just under 2 months now.

"Five weeks, nearly six," Yami replied with a slight shrug, finding a card of interest and turning it over, scanning through its attacks typed neatly on paper inside the plastic wrapping.

"You're late? That's it. We're going to the doctors even if I have to drag you," she hissed, tearing the card out of her hand and dropping it back in the box. Before she could manage an outraged refusal, Mai had grabbed her arm, shouted to Yugi that they were going out, and then dragged Yami out of the shop.

Yami did not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation, and rather than explaining it to her herself, Mai decided it would be better to find out what was going on for certain rather than risk upsetting her unnecessarily.

****

The Game King was less than happy at being dragged to the doctor's surgery, standing in her usual pose as they waited for someone to come into the room they had been led into. Arms crossed and legs spread slightly in a defiant gesture, her eyes were practically burning as she stared at the charts on the wall, totally ignoring Mai.

Finally an older man with thin-framed glasses and a warm smile came in, holding a clipboard and a pen. Smiling, he extended a hand to Yami and introduced himself before indicating that she should get onto the bed. With a glare at Mai she did as instructed, sitting quietly on the edge of the bed and toying with the paper sheet.

After a series of questions the doctor opened a draw and produced an instrument wrapped in plastic. Smiling again, he turned to Yami still holding the small device.

"What is that for?" Yami asked suspiciously, noting the sharp tip of the thing.

"I need a sample of your blood to test," he replied, a tone of amusement lacing his words.

Yami tipped her head to the side with a smile of her own. "If you come near me with that, I will carve a part of your anatomy into the same shape."

Apparently the doctor was used to less than willing patients as his expression did not even flicker. "It will be over quickly and is relatively painless," he assured.

Seeing that the doctor wasn't going to get anything out of Yami aside from verbal abuse if he continued along that track, Mai stepped to her side and smiled at her brightly.

"Yami! I do believe we have found something you are afraid of! And I thought it would be something impressive rather than a puny little needle.'

Glaring venomously at both occupants of the room, Yami muttered her consent and sat still as her sleeve was rolled up and the small amount of crimson fluid removed. Nodding his thanks, the doctor then assured that he would be back in a few minutes and left them alone, Mai staring at her shoes and Yami holding a piece of cotton-wool to her arm.

They remained in total silence, Mai uncomfortable and Yami confused, until the doctor returned, the smile on his face now even broader. Mai came back to Yami's side from where she had stood against the wall, waiting with baited breath. Yami was still blissfully ignorant.

"Congratulations Miss Mutou. You're pregnant."

Yami blinked. And then blinked again. When the scene didn't frazzle out as it would in a dream she felt the world fall out from under her feet. Absently she realized that Mai had clamped a steadying hand onto her shoulder, likely to prevent her from falling off the bed. She suddenly felt very sick.

The doctor frowned slightly, the smile now flickering. "I take it this was not planned pregnancy?"

Mai shook her head slightly, her hand still on the small woman's shoulder. Yami swore that when the man had said 'that' word again the world tipped crazily. One more would make her pass out.

"Alright. Well, everything here looks fine so go home, think and talk things over, and I'll see you again in two weeks."

Leaving the surgery was a blur to Yami, Mai leading her out with a hand on the small of her back. Returning to the car, they began driving around the city not really knowing whether to return or not. They were passing a street comprising mostly of abandoned buildings on one side when Yami whispered a plea for her to stop.

Parking, Mai barely had time to register Yami leaping out of the car and running into one of the buildings, kicking the boarded-up door open and disappearing into the dark inside.

Worried, Mai hurriedly followed and stopped just inside the door. Loud screams and shouts could be heard, followed by various crashes and bangs from the floor upstairs. Chewing her lower lip, she walked carefully up the rotting staircase and stood in the doorway of the room that Yami was currently in.

Another shout as she threw another wooden box at the wall, watching with satisfaction as it shattered into a thousand pieces. Chest heaving, hands clenching and unclenching, Yami stood uncertainly in the center of the room, staring at nothing in particular, her back to Mai.

After a few minutes, her breathing slowed and a hand came up to her mouth, closing over the lower part of her face as her other arm came up about her waist. A choked sob before she dropped to her knees, Mai running up behind her and enveloping her in a tight hug, rocking her lightly.

"What am I going to do?" Yami mumbled in her hair when her breathing had returned to normality.

Mai paused in her movements, really thinking about the question. "I don't know. But remember it's your decision so don't listen to anyone else when you decide. I'll respect whatever you want to do, you know that."

A pained sigh. "Urgh, I'm going to have to tell him, aren't I?"

"Most likely."

"It can wait."

They remained in the house for another few minutes before an embarrassed Yami wiped tear-stained cheeks, rising slowly and following Mai back to the car. They drove around for a long time after that before returning to the shop, resuming their pursuit of new cards, although this time neither really saw them.

****TBC****


	3. Announcements

Chapter 1 for the standard stuff that is needed for me to retain my clothes and personal assets. Ie; don't sue me. I am poor already. Hope you're enjoying this as is my first Yu-Gi-Oh fiction. Encouragement is greatly needed and, well, encouraged!

****

Chapter 3 : Announcements

YVO

//Damnit! How in the seven hells could this have happened?! Why? 

I have done exactly as I was instructed; sat down and thought long and hard about the situation. I have deduced the following; First, I'm not having one of these abortion things that Mai described to me. I do not kill innocents, that much I am certain of. Secondly, I have not told, spoken to or even seen Seto, nor do I intend to until I have told the others. 

Yugi suspects that something is wrong, pestering me almost constantly in an attempt to find out what exactly. I suppose he would be suspicious; I haven't been into my soul room since I found out and I'm out of the house more than usual. I don't intend to abandon my physical form at the risk of the child; I do not know if it could survive being in my metaphysical state

Mai came with me to the second appointment and I have her word that she will accompany me to the third on one condition; I have to tell Yugi. I should, I am well aware of this fact. He is my light as I am his darkness. He is part of me and has every right to know but it is difficult. I want Mai to come to the next appointment, particularly because some kind of scan is involved and I really do not like the sound of that. 

That means that I have relatively little choice in the matter. I hope he takes this better than I did.//

****

It was getting late when Yami and Yugi went into the living area of the Game shop, their Grandpa staying behind to tidy away a few things before joining them later. Yugi dropped down tiredly into a chair at the table, yawning broadly as a result of such a hard day. They had been bringing in new stock for most of the day, the result being that almost every muscle he had was on fire.

Yami stood uneasily by the door behind his small counterpart, stomach forming into a tight lead ball as she screwed up her courage enough to move again.

Finally she moved to the opposite side of the table, easing her tired body into the seat and folding her hands on the worn wood. "Aibou, I have something I need to tell you."

Yugi looked up with interest at that, eyes widening to show the same. He frowned when Yami paused again, looking down at her intertwined fingers and biting at part of her lower lip.

"Yami? Is everything alright? You've been acting kinda strange lately. You're worrying me."

"I know and I don't mean to, Aibou," she replied instantly, reaching a hand out and placing it over one of Yugi's earnestly. 

Yugi smiled at that a little. "So what do you need to tell me?"

Yami stared at Yugi for a good minute before answering, determined not to drop her eyes from his as she tried to form words. Finally they came, as if another had spoken them. She couldn't understand why she found telling this so difficult? Why did she feel like it was a confession?

"I'm pregnant."

There was a long pause during which Yugi blinked a few times, face unmoving. Finally he shook himself a little, hand still under Yami's.

"Oh. Congratulations, I think. Is it 'congratulations'? Or is..."

"No! No, it-it's congratulations. I think," Yami smiled a little despite herself, leaning back in the chair as she became more relaxed, her hand sliding back across the table and into lap.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me before Grandpa had you lifting all those boxes? It isn't good for you," Yugi asked seriously, concern bleeding into his voice. 

"Because it was hard enough telling you just now even though I've spent most of the day rehearsing it. Mai knows too, and a doctor, but that's it."

"So the father doesn't know?"

"That is correct."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"When I can face him."

"Who is it?"

Yami's nose twitched in reaction to the question, eyes dropping to her lap now. Yugi was a smart boy and his mind was already clicking through possibilities since it seemed Yami wasn't going to answer any time soon.

"Seto?! At that dinner?" he exclaimed, a surprised smile slowly forming once the words had left his mouth, staring excitedly at Yami across the table.

"Yes, but he had as much to drink a myself so I do not believe he is even aware that there was an, um, 'incident'."

Yugi nodded and then fell silent in thought, mind turning over this information like a child sucking on a new sweet. "You should tell him."

"I should," Yami agreed, tipping her head to the side in a nod, fringe flopping into her face.

"But you aren't going to."

"Not right now! Telling you was difficult enough, but it was Mai's condition if she was to accompany me to the doctor's next week. I presume you will be joining me also?" she asked with a knowing smirk.

"Definitely! But first you're telling Seto. And I mean right now."

"Yugi? What the-?"

Before Yami could finish the question Yugi had gotten up, taken her arm and led her quite forcefully to the door, opening it, pushing her out and then closing it again.

"And you're not coming back in until you tell Seto!" he shouted through the wood. He was well aware that this was a very drastic and possibly dangerous way of getting Yami to talk to the Kaiba brother, but he knew Yami enough to know that she was stubborn. She would likely not tell Seto for weeks. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Fuming at the closed door, Yami knew that Yugi was as stubborn as she was and would not let him back into the house until she had done as instructed. Lip twitching as she tried to determine which of them was actually the darker half, she gave a small shout of surprise when she turned around and nearly stepped into someone.

"Hey Yami. Why you out here?" Joey asked, holding three piazzas under his arm, Honda stood beside Tea just behind him.

"Yugi threw me out," she replied lightly, noting the six-pack of soda Honda held and the stack of video cassettes in Tea's arms. "Sleepover?"

"Yeah. We saw you and Yugi working today and decided that you could both use a little down time," Tea began, shifting the videos that were beginning to slip from her arms. 

"Tea's coming over soon too. It's a surprise. You coming back in?" Honda asked, stepping forward beside Joey.

//Mai's coming and I've just told Yugi. I can tell exactly how the next hour or so is going to pan out. I definitely do not want to be in that house tonight. Suddenly talking to Seto doesn't sound like such a bad idea.//

"No, actually. There are some things I need to attend to. I'll be back later," Yami declined rapidly, already moving around the group and walking quickly towards the street, fighting the urge to run very hard.

The trio looked after the hastily departing figure curiously before knocking on the door.

"I told you Yami! You are not coming back into this house until you talk to Seto!"

They exchanged confused looks before Joey shouted back into the door. "Uh, talk to Seto about what?"

The door snapped open and Yugi stepped back to let them inside, checking about the corner to ensure that Yami didn't nip in after Honda.

"So why does Yami have to talk to Seto? Did she finally cotton onto the fact that she's head over heels for him?" Tea asked, setting the videos down onto the table and taking the seat Yami was previously in.

Yugi gaped at her, Honda and Joey not reacting to the question at all as they dropped into the remaining seats. "How did you know? I figured I only knew because we're connected."

"Oh come on! It's so obvious! The only one of us who doesn't know it is her," Honda exclaimed, starting on the first pizza and managing to get away with both his hands still attached despite Joey's enthusiasm.

"Oh dear. Then things have just become far more complicated," Yugi mused, sitting in the last chair and grabbing a piece of pizza before Joey attacked it.

"What do you mean?" Tea asked just before the door opened, Mai strolling in happily with a bag of pop-corn, dropping it beside the pizza boxes before picking up a soda.

"What's going on?" she asked, sensing a certain degree of tension in the air as she clicked open the can. Looking at Yugi's face, she deduced what was happening fairly quickly and moved to stand beside him facing the others as a result.

****

Yami stood at the bottom of the path leading to Seto's front door for ten minutes before a security guard came up from behind her. She had expected some kind of guard about the grounds so she didn't start when he spoke.

"Mr Kaiba is waiting for you Miss Mutou," he said, walking around to face her. When her eyes widened slightly in surprise he chuckled softly before continuing. "He can see you on the security cameras. I've been ordered to escort you up to the house."

Nodding slightly and feeling like an idiot, Yami followed the guard up the path and stepped through the door that was opened for her, standing uneasily in the entrance hall as she waited for Seto to appear.

"Yami, how may I help you?" a familiar voice called down from the top of the stares, the owner of the house ascending slowly with a curious expression on his face.

Blinking, Yami nodded and came to the bottom of the stairs. "I, uh, need to tell you something. Can I sit down?"

A vicious businessman, Seto was still a gentleman, and extending a hand, he ushered her into the next room adjacent to the hall where the dinner had been held so many weeks ago.

They sat opposite each other on the twin couches until Seto broke the silence, waving away the butler after ordering two cups of tea. "Why are you here?"

Eyes narrowing in thought, Yami decided that the indirect route would be easier. "Seto, how much do you remember about that dinner I attended with you?"

Seto frowned at the question before answering honestly. "I danced with you, who looked very beautiful by the way, and then we drank a lot. I believe I shouted at my butler too after all the other guests left."

Ignoring the comment that she had looked 'very beautiful', Yami tried to direct his thoughts in the direction she wanted. "What about, after, the guests left? What do you remember after that?"

Dubiously, Seto paused before answering in a low voice. "I don't remember anything else up until going to bed."

//Then why the hell didn't you call?! I was out of my mind! Take some bloody responsibility!//

"Oh."

"What about you?"

Yami stared at him in confusion, blinking with mind reeling.

"How much do you remember?"

"I, um, woke up early and left. I don't actually remember anything but it was pretty obvious what had happened," she said, feeling laughter beginning to bubble up. That hadn't been as hard as she had anticipated.

"Oh. I wondered why you weren't there the next day. I would have called but I didn't know what you thought about the whole thing, and the company's adopting more clients soon so I haven't been able to get away to talk. Are you alright? You don't look well," he asked, standing and moving next to her on the couch, hand reaching up to touch her forehead.

Standing quickly, unsettled by the feelings his closeness invoked, Yami moved to stand at the end of the couch, arms crossing in her standard pose. "I don't feel well."

"You should see a doctor."

"I have."

"Oh. What did they say?"

//How in the hell did we get to that so quickly?//

Eyes snapping back to him, her mouth worked for a few seconds as she raced to think straight again, a hand moving to her stomach in an unconscious action.

Seto noticed the action and his eyes widened also, staring up at the significantly paler other. "You're-"

"Yes."

"In there?!"

"Yes."

"Because of then?"

"All correct."

He stood quickly then, standing infront of her and gripping her shoulders. "You have to get it aborted."

"What?! No! The decision has been made, I'm not," Yami snapped back defiantly, stepping out of his grasp.

"I can't be a father now! Between Mokuba and work I have no time at all! It would be unfair, and you cannot raise a child alone," he retorted, voice raising with hers.

"That's where you're wrong! I am not alone; I have Yugi, and Mai, and-"

"Oh, the 'gang'," Seto sneered, seriously thrown by the news and the fact that Yami wasn't conceding to his demands. "No offence, but I wouldn't trust them with plank of wood let alone a baby."

Eye or Ra glowing furiously in the center of her forehead, Yami had reached up and slapped him hard without even thinking, turning abruptly on her heel and storming out without looking back.

Slamming the door against the wall due to the fact that she opened it so hard, she left it to close after her and was halfway down the path when she paused, hands raising to her head and losing themselves in her hair. Looking back, in hesitation or to see if Seto had followed her, she had no idea, she growled as his last words replayed themselves in her mind. 

Damning Seto to every hell and God she knew, Yami continued back down the path, the mystical eye dimming to nothing and the puzzle no longer glowing menacingly. Every muscle in her body held taunt and knowing that there were people back at the shop, she decided to take the long way home.

****

Yugi sensed Yami's return, getting up from the couch infront of the television where everyone was sitting engrossed in some film and looking out of the window. He was about to shout out that she was home when he saw her carry on past the shop, walking purposefully to the drainpipe at the edge and beginning to climb.

Stepping out into the kitchen, he picked up the remaining slice of pizza and slipped outside, walking to the bottom of the drainpipe and looking up, spotting the young woman lying against the roof tiles.

"Yami? I brought you out some pizza. I figured you'd want some since your appetite rivals Joey's now," he shouted up.

"Throw it up and then join me," Yami called back down, appearing on the edge of the roof.

As directed, Yugi tossed the pizza slice into the air, watching Yami's nimble hand snap out and snatch it before retracting back. Clamping his fingers around the plastic pipe, Yugi began to climb.

It took a few minutes to get to the top, during which Yami had gratefully devoured the proffered pizza and moved to the drainpipe, pulling Yugi the rest of the way up when he could be reached.

"I take it didn't go well," he said, lying on the tiles next to Yami as he caught his breath.

Yami's eyes remained fixed on the night sky as she answered. "He wants me to get an abortion."

"Oh Yami, I'm sorry," Yugi murmured instantly, hand moving to her shoulder in a comforting and supportive gesture.

"I am too. I'll be fine." She snorted slightly as a wry smile formed. "I think I bruised his face."

"Yeah?"

"He, started insulting you all. I wasn't exactly going to stand around and let him say it, was I? At least he knows not to mess around pregnant women now."

Yugi started laughing at that, Yami quickly joining in. It was quite a sight; two people laughing hysterically for no apparent reason on the roof of a games shop. 

"Everyone else knows now?" Yami asked when they had quieted.

"Yeah. They took it pretty well. Joey fainted and Honda thinks it's cool. Tea, well, Tea always liked you so I don't think she knows quite what to think. Either way we're all behind you."

Yami stared at him with an odd expression on her face for a few long moments before smiling softly, eyes closing and head bowing to him. "Thank you. I'm afraid I'm going to need all the support I can get."

****TBC****

How am I doing so far? Leave a review and let me know! ;p


	4. Concern

Aha! I have done a long chapter! Go me! I know diddly and am taking educated guesses here so forgive huge screw-ups. Again, leave a review to tell me how I'm doing and to encourage.

****

Chapter 4 : Combat

YVO

//My baby is a peanut. Mai, Yugi and I went for the scan two weeks ago that, quite disturbingly, showed us all a moving image of my inner organs. The doctor kindly pointed out child and, to my surprise, it was the shape of a peanut with some dark dots for eyes and some kind of tube running out of the center of it. Assured that that was normal and that it is growing fine, I am no longer quite so worried but if it looks like a kiwi-fruit next week I will get very upset. 

Everyone was sympathetic after Yugi told them what had happened with Seto but wisely they left me to myself. Of course they ask how I am to the point where I am damning whoever started that phrase, with the sympathetic held tilt-accompanied question and head-bobbed response becoming an hourly occurrence. Joey still feels partly responsible and although his obsession with following me around at the Turtle shop when new stock came in to ensure that I didn't lift anything big was sweet at first, but now it is just another reason for me to want to harm him. Seriously.

Mai dragged me shopping again yesterday, telling me that I was going to burst out of my current attire soon if I didn't change which, quite honestly, I felt also. She dared come near me with a maternity smock, learning very quickly not to do it again after my reaction. 

Honda's remaining firmly in my good books as he brings me strawberries, which I am rapidly becoming addicted to. Tea is, well, Tea. I'm not sure what she thinks; this whole thing must seem pretty strange to her. It certainly is to me.

That leaves Seto. After I stormed out with so much dramatic flare that I actually feel quite smug, we have not spoken nor seen each other. Part of me feels that I should have stayed and talked things out properly, but then the sane part of me argues that he wouldn't have backed down at all, especially after receiving such a shocking piece of news. I want to talk to him and get this all figured out to the point that I start for the door without even thinking, but then I remember his harsh words and instantly back down from that course of action. Besides, outside of the business world I am his greatest nemesis. Come to think of it, Seto's business is gaming so that would make me his worst enemy there too. Fantastic.

Yugi is on my side. He says that if Seto wanted anything to do with us then he would have to come and apologise himself. Fair enough, but with his stubbornness I sincerely doubt that that will ever happen.//

****

Yami waved slightly at the reversing truck indicating it to stop, the engine hissing as it stopped moving at the entrance to the Turtle Games shop. Yugi was inside preparing a space in the store-room whilst Yami helped outside. Clicking open the metal door and shoving it up, the sides rattling as it ascended, she gave the boxes inside a quick glance over to ensure that they were undamaged. 

Satisfied that all the ordered stock was present and in good condition, she reached over the ledge of the truck and dragged back the first box. Lifting it properly, she started back inside when a voice shouted behind her, accompanied by the sound of running.

"Ah no ya don't!"

Before she could blink, Yami found herself minus a box staring at Joey in shock as he struggled to get a decent grip on it. 

"Joey! Give that back! It's my job," she shouted at the overly concerned teen, moving forward to take the box out of his arms only to have him step away from her.

"You're not lifting any of the stuff in that truck. I don't care how light it is. I'm not gonna let you strain yourself," Joey replied flatly, holding the box with one hand to his chest and pocking her slightly rounded stomach to relay his point with the other.

Fuming, Yami knew that she would not win this argument and headed to the door, pulling it open for him to carry the box inside and through to the store-room. "You do realize that the only reason your head is still connected to your shoulders is because you're helping Yugi out."

Joey grinned as he reemerged and returned to the truck to fetch another box. Kicking a doorstop under the heavy door, Yami climbed up into the truck after Joey returned inside and proceeded to start moving the boxes to the edge ready to be collected. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Groaning at the exclamation, Yami braced her hands on the cardboard and looked up at Tea who was standing infuriated on the other side of the box, hands planted firmly on her hips.

"I am moving these boxes to the ledge which is approximately two meters away from my current location. Joey is collecting them and taking them inside whilst Yugi stacks them. Happy?" 

Shoving the box forward again she sighed heavily when it stopped against the toes of Tea's shoes. "They aren't heavy!"

"I don't care. Get out of the truck," she instructed, one hand pointing behind her whilst the other remained firmly on her hip.

Staring at her in amazement and making a noise of surprised indignation, Yami stalked out shaking her head and hopped back down onto the pavement where Joey was smirking triumphantly.

"One damn word and I don't care how much you're helping, your head will go through that wall."

Joey held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender, shaking his head and resuming his work. Supremely pissed off now, especially considering the fact that this was the fourth time this had happened, Yami returned inside and moved into the living area at the back of the shop knowing it was deserted.

Filling the basin with hot water and washing-up liquid, she started dumping the remains of last night's film-frenzy into the sink, collecting the washcloth from the side and scrubbing at the plates.

She had started to wash up a lot now; her mind always drifted whilst doing it and it was one of the few things she was actually permitted to do. Their concern was touching but it was an omen that the next few months were going to be absolutely hell.

//If one more person stops me from doing something, I swear I will tear them apart, eat their soul and whittle their bones into toothpicks.//

"Yami, if you could just stop what you're-"

"Will you people quit it!" she shouted as she turned, cheeks warming when she saw her amused grandfather standing in the doorway. Bowing slightly in apology, she picked up a towel to dry her hands whilst waiting for him to continue.

"It's alright Yami-Chan. Honda just dropped off some strawberries for you and is now outside helping Yugi with the stock. I agree with you in that most of the boxes aren't heavy but I would rather you did not help remove them from the truck anymore."

"Alright Grandpa. You'll need an extra hand though to get it done."

The old man laughed a little. "Joey seems quite intent on keeping you from doing any serious work, and Tea and Honda seem happy to be of assistance. I believe I have all the help I can ask for."

Yami smiled slightly and nodded, extending a hand to take the offered fruit from Grandpa. The phone started to ring then, Grandpa answering it as Yami returned to the steaming bowl of dirty dishes. Her hand moved to her chest before going into the soapy water, rubbing at an ache that permeated deep into her being. 

It had been occurring on and off for a few days now, the pain seemingly intensifying marginally each time. It could be tolerated though, and therefor ignored.

Looking over to her whilst holding the phone, he asked if Yami could fetch Yugi back from the shop.

Snatching the towel back up as she walked, Yami stepped into the front of the building, glancing about for her light. She spotted him perched on the counter with a magazine, the truck apparently unloaded now. 

"The others went off shopping for us. They should be back soon," he said glancing up quickly from his reading.

"Alright. Someone's on the phone for you. I'll stay out here until you're done."

Dropping the magazine he hopped off the high counter and ran out of the shop leaving Yami alone. Wiping the remaining suds off of her arms, she moved behind the counter and sat up on a stool, pillowing her head on her folded arms as she lent forward.

All was quiet until Yugi returned a few minutes later coming immediately to her side, speaking as he walked.

"That was Mokuba. Seto's really sick; that's why he hasn't been around for a while. Mokuba didn't want to call before because Seto said that he and Yami had had a fight but he doesn't know what to do."

"Has a doctor been round yet?" 

"Yeah, a few days ago. He said he would be fine but now he's gotten worse."

Yami sighed, sensing exactly what Yugi wanted her to do. She was mildly surprised that he hadn't come right out and asked directly, or at least queried him across their link.

"I take it you want me to go over there, Aibou? Hopefully to kill two birds with one stone," she asked flatly, head rising to look him directly into the eyes.

Smiling sheepishly, Yugi nodded slightly.

Heaving a sigh, Yami rolled her eyes before pointing a finger sharply at him. "I'll go, but you're coming with me."

****

The Kaiba mansion was eerily silent when the pair entered, Yugi effectively shattering that by shouting for Mokuba the moment they were inside. Mokuba came running down the stairs clearly upset, stopping directly infront of them.

"He's upstairs. Yami, can you go and see him whilst I tell Yugi what's been going on?" he asked hesitantly, large eyes pleading.

Yami nodded once and headed immediately for the stairs feeling a disturbing familiarity with the route. Knowing which room to head for, she opened the door slowly and found herself in darkness, the only illumination in the room being the thin sliver of light coming in from between the drawn curtains.

Coming round to the side of the large bed, she perched on the edge of the mattress beside the unconscious figure and laid a hand over his forehead. The heat was frightening so it was no wonder he was unresponsive.

Biting the tip of her tongue as she determined what to do next, Yami went into the adjoining bathroom and started the cold tap on the bath, dropping the plug in and returning to the bed. It was necessary to get the fever down quickly, and with it this bad serious action would be required. 

Yami discarded the thought of calling on Yugi for assistance the second her pride had kicked in. She had nursed Yugi through fevers and was quite capable of getting Seto into the freezing water. Yanking the sheets off in one fluid motion, she was relieved to see that he was clad only in boxers which meant that she didn't need to undress him which would have only cause a delay.

Well aware of her diminished upper-body strength in this form, Yami settled for shifting the taller body over her shoulder and half carrying, half dragging him into the bathroom. Dumping him in the tub was significantly easier, her back screaming at her when she finally got him in the water and straightened.

//I hate it when Joey's right.//

Collecting a small towel from the wall, she soaked it in the water before sitting on the edge of the bath, her spine refusing point-blank to do anything else. Lifting it to his face, she dabbed at the beads of sweat that ran down his cheeks, throat and chest. Finding a smaller cloth, she soaked that too and planted it on his forehead, bathing him with the larger one carefully.

After a few minutes he groaned softly, a hand rising out of the water to come to his face. Ceasing her administrations, Yami waited patiently for him to regain his bearings. His eyes were still clouded when he finally opened them but were rapidly clearing, evidence that the fever was breaking.

"Good of you to wake up. You're terrifying your brother you know," Yami greeted softly with a smile, removing the cloth from his head and soaking it again before replacing it.

Seto remained quiet for a few minutes simply watching her. He had never had any one care for him like this before, not that he could remember at least. It was an entirely new experience for him and as of such he reacted through instinct.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?"

Eyes hardening marginally at the cold tone in his voice, she continued soaking his skin methodically. "Because I was the only one around who knew how to handle a fever."

Seto nodded to acknowledge the answer before falling entirely silent, eyes facing a point on the wall infront of him.

Suddenly Yami paused, the cloth hovering just above his skin. Her face was blank and unmoving, eyes unfocused as she stared at nothing. After a few seconds it passed and she looked down at him again. 

"Yugi asked how you were. He and Mokuba are going out for an hour or so. I swear he's up to something," she explained, trailing off absently as she resumed tending to him.

"Shouldn't you be bigger?" Seto asked suddenly, his voice slightly raw from under- use.

Yami frowned at him in confusion, worried that he was still delirious. "Pardon?"

"You're about three months along, correct? I thought you'd be bigger. I may be mistaken; I don't know too much about this sort of thing," he replied, motioning to her stomach which was just below his eye-level in his current position.

Yami shrugged slightly. "I'm learning about all this for the first time so I have no idea of what is normal in terms of size, but the doctor says that everything is fine."

A slender eyebrow rose slightly in surprise. "You've been to the doctor recently?" His voice still held its usual note of steel, but now there was a note of curiosity lacing his tone.

"Yes. I had another scan last week. I have a picture if you'd like to see," she said reaching into the back pocket of her trousers. She had taken to carrying the most recent picture around with her now for some strange reason.

Shifting slightly so that her back was against the wall behind Seto, she pointed at the main mass in the center of the picture she held before them both. Shifting up a little in the tub, Seto looked curiously at the dark picture before looking up at Yami. "It looks like a peanut."

Yami snorted slightly, biting her lower lip to restrain the laugh that threatened to escape. Replacing the picture she placed her hand back on his forehead.

"Well you feel cooler. How do you feel?"

"Like crap, but better than I did."

"You recover well; Yugi takes hours to even speak after a fever breaks."

"I never get sick. I can't afford to. That's good incentive to recover."

Frowning at him sharply, Yami stared in disbelief. "Do you ever take a break? You're ill. You cannot be working at KaibaCorp. at this exact minute so stop worrying about it."

"What do you mean 'stop worrying about it'? It's my life's work," he started, sitting up more indignantly in the tub.

Rolling crimson eyes slightly, Yami heaved a sigh. He'd never change, that much was obvious. "Do you need help or shall I leave you to dry yourself off."

"Why the hell are you doing this anyway? Is this part of some scheme to get funding out of me for that baby?" he practically growled, infuriated at his own weakness. They both knew full well that he couldn't get out on his own.

Eye narrowed to slits now, Yami pulled a tight rein of he urge of hit him again. That wouldn't be fair in his present condition. He may hate her but she... Well, that was currently under review.

"I am helping because your brother asked me to. Now let me help."

Nodding, Seto began to stand in the bath but soon found that he simply didn't have the strength, something that made his lip curl. Stepping forward and putting an arm about his waist, Yami allowed him to use her shoulder as leverage before getting him out of the water, toweling him dry whilst he held onto the towel rack to remain standing.

Placing him inside a large robe, Yami escorted him downstairs into the kitchen and set about preparing a simple stew, dropping a few handfuls of fresh vegetables into the stock and leaving it to simmer.

"Do you get morning sickness?" Seto asked, not entirely sure what to say.

Yami gave an unseen smirk before turning to face him, the billionaire sat on a stool at the breakfast table watching her with mild interest.

"I don't get morning sickness. I get evening sickness, which is not helpful when Yugi's favorite food is pizza. It should stop soon; all these things are divided into trimesters. Before you ask, yes I am eating now. And hating every minute of it," she replied, some unpleasant experiences involving chocolate, pizza and too much soda coming to mind. After that she had started to eat nothing but healthy food without any encouragement.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Really. I don't like to see my opponents out of top form," he replied coolly. She turned to face him, mouth partially open in shock.

"Ah yes, because then it wouldn't be a challenge, would it? Too tedious? Well, incase you haven't noticed we're on the same side this time. There is no duel, there are no cards and all the attacks are personal. I don't want to fight you and quite honestly, I don't think I ever really did."

Glaring at him as she turned back to the stew, turning the heat off and moving the pan off of the hob. Dumping the contents into the waiting bowl, she turned again and stalked past him. "Eat that and drink plenty. Take a few days off and see a doctor if you want."

After watching her retreating back, Seto moved off the stool and to the bowl, contemplation the contents idly. How the hell was he supposed to accept this? Yami seemed to think that he should come to terms with it and be happy, but it simply wasn't that simple. Nothing ever was for him.

Snorting at the situation in general, he made a quick mental note to have a car drop Yugi home before taking a cautious sip of the stew. Finding it tasting good, he was mildly surprised that the stuff wasn't poisoned. 

That would have been a simple and straightforward method of sorting it out, even if it was grossly selfish.

****TBC****

Leave a review! I had to re-write this chapter because of a very brief and yet thought-provoking email I had, so your input obviously makes a difference!


	5. Curse

Right, thanks for the reviews, particular those of you who took the time to e-mail because ff.net was acting up. Again. Thanks guys! I got nitpicked too which was unpleasant. Please note that I have seen a sum total of 12 episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh so I do not know all the little details and am relying on other fanfiction for information so my ignorance is not entirely my fault! Eye of Horus, Eye of Ra, you all know what I mean so let's leave it!!! Soz, respond badly to nitpicks... Will take note and not make the mistake again in future though so I give a grudging thanks...

Well, here's the next chapter from this evidently unstable author so review and send suggestions! I'm juggling 3 fictions in 3 different fandoms so my brain is unable to come up with fantastic ideas constantly. (This was my stupid 'challenge' idea to stop me getting bored now that I have a whole summer with naff-all to do. I am beginning to hate myself for it..) It's one of my longer chapters so appreciate my effort for you people!

I'll let you read this now before I scare you further....

****

Chapter 5 : Curse

YVO

//Something is terribly wrong with me. I am finding Joey attractive. I am blaming this on Seto, which works fine for him because I don't think he is extremely desirous to see me either.

In the last appointment a new question was added to the usual series, one that, thankfully, explains my sudden attraction to just about anyone; 'are you finding yourself with more sexual drive?'. Even worded so strangely I understood the question, and an immense feeling of relief came over me when he explained that it was normal and the pregnancy's fault. 

The doctor asked me that in a private session so I don't think anyone else knows what is going through my head most of the time. I think Yugi can sense it though, no matter how hard I try and block it, because he smirks at me knowingly every time I start fidgeting.

Mai, who is very quickly becoming a very close friend, came round to the shop with a magazine the other day that depicted the stages of a child's development, something that I found quite interesting. Right now, it is almost fully developed and simply growing, which is a relief as it means that it will no longer look like a peanut, which admittedly frightened me.

I have decided to stay quiet about the identity of the father should anyone ask. Seto has made a fair few enemies in his rise to commercial success and I could be used against him if someone discovered the situation. I do not want this child to come to harm.

On the bright side, I should be able to start feeling the child's movements at the end of this month, something that I am quite looking forward to. Yugi is excited as well, verging on hyperactivity about it. I'm not sure what the relationship between him and the child will be because of our less-than-usual bond. Uncle? Son? Admittedly the whole thing gives me a headache.//

****

It was the middle of the night when Yugi came down into the kitchen, a violent cough he had recently developed meaning his throat was raw, particularly at night, leaving him with the damn-near constant need for a glass of water.

He jumped when he saw a figure silhouetted in the dark that flinched at the suddenly offensive lights that Yugi had slapped on in panic. Yami glared at him lightly from beneath a hand raised against the light, crimson eyes sparkling with wry amusement at his ruffled and alarmed state.

"Morning," she said dryly before driving the spoon back into the bowl between her elbows.

Frowning, Yugi approached the table and looked into the bowl, pulling a face when he saw that the contents consisted of triple chocolate ice-cream covered with grated cheese. Huffing in amusement as he watched Yami put another spoonful of the concoction into her mouth, he moved to the sink and poured himself a glass of water.

"Yami, that is probably the most disgusting thing I have ever seen anyone eat," he croaked, gulping down some water after he spoke to sooth the pain.

Scowling at the sound, Yami shoved the bowl away and lent her weight on her folded arms. "I don't know why you won't let me take care of that."

Yugi stared at her in exasperation. "It's just a sore throat! And besides, we still don't know what using your magic will do to you both."

"I promise I will stop if I sense anything is wrong. I can't stand seeing you in pain," she replied softly, eyes growing large.

His expression turned incredulous. He knew her emotions were volatile to say the least but he hadn't expected her to get so worked up over something like a cough. Thinking carefully, he decided that letting her try would be the best course of action as Yami would certainly stop if something seemed even the slightest bit amiss.

Dragging a chair to sit beside her, he waited swinging his legs over the edge until she had shifted into a comfortable position facing him. Rubbing a thumb over his cheek, she inhaled slowly before moving her hand to his throat, closing her eyes in concentration.

When Yami began chanting softly, Yugi felt a tingling sensation begin just beneath his skin, increasing in intensity until the flesh was fairly humming. Swallowing experimentally, he found the action smooth and painless, the chanting ceasing as he opened his eyes immediately after.

"Told you," she said simply, a smug grin forming on her face as she leant back. Her face contorted as she moved, a low hiss escaping clenched teeth. Yugi put a hand on her knee questioningly, waiting for her to open her eyes again.

Leaning back in the chair, Yami placed a hand lightly over her stomach and smiled at him in reassurance. "I'm alright, Aibou. Ra help me in four and a half months though."

"Your back again?"

"Not so much that time. I've got an ache in my chest, but it's probably normal. Every other ache and pain I've had over the last 3 months has been."

Yugi frowned in confusion at that, making a mental note to ask Mai if that was in fact normal in the morning. Thanking his guardian for healing him, he retreated from the kitchen and back to his bed. Yami had decided to move into the living room when she first became female knowing that to stay in the same bad with Yugi like before would be quite awkward for him. 

Seto had made a grudging offer for her to move in with him because of the lack of space, an offer that Yami had not shared with anyone else, wanting to actually consider it before speaking. Finishing her snack and retreating to the pillow-swathed foldable bed, she seriously began considering taking him up on it.

****

The entire group had decided to come over for late breakfast that morning, Yugi's Grandpa on a trip out of the country for the next week meaning they liked to come round often to keep the pair company. Joey was at the frying pan making eggs and Honda was cooking bacon whilst the others sat about the table patiently.

Yami had just eased out of bed and padded into the room to discern what the smell's drifting out were, dressed in a pair of shorts and a large t-shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a lose pony-tail that slapped against her shoulders as she dropped into a chair, scrubbing a hand across her eyes before looking about the room.

"Morning. Cooking?" she asked simply waving a hand indistinctly to indicate the activities in the room.

Yugi smiled slightly before turning to Mai. "She only speaks in single word sentences until she's eaten now," he explained with a laugh.

"Hey, your voice sounds better," Tea noted sounding pleased.

"Oh yeah. Yami fixed it last night."

"That wasn't a good idea you know," Mai scolded picking at her toast, eyes moving to relay the point to Yami who rolled her eyes.

"It was fine. It felt like it always does when I heal him, and it took almost no effort so there is no need to be concerned," she said slowly and clearly. Reaching over and snatching a piece of toast from the pile in the middle of the table, she took a bite out of the corner and smiled in contentment.

"What about that ache you got in your chest? You looked like you were in pain," Yugi protested causing everyone else to turn their eyes to the accused young woman.

Looking directly at Yugi now, Yami explained in a reasonable tone, hand moving to emphasis her point. "Yugi, understand this now. I am fine. Stop worrying. Using my magic to help you did not cause that pain."

"So you've had it before?"

Instead of getting into what looked to be quite an argument infront of everyone, Yami delved into their link, choosing to communicate privately with his light.

'Yes, I've felt it before. Do not be concerned for me, please.'

'It's getting worse though, isn't it? I can feel you're lying to me.'

'I'm not lying to you my light. I am just tired of everyone fussing and if I did inform you of every twinge you'd never leave me alone. I am not used to all this attention.'

'Just answer my question. Is it getting worse?'

'Yes. But I am being careful in monitoring it. Please do not worry.'

'Alright. I trust you. But if it doesn't go away will you tell me?'

'Of course little light.'

'Um, guys? I hate to interrupt such a deep thing here, but eggs are ready," Joey said as he began scraping the greasy foods onto each plate.

Yugi felt a familiar twitch in his link with Yami and had to stifle a laugh as she squirmed when he leaned over her shoulder to dump an egg onto her plate.

Just as he had sat down the phone began ringing, Yami standing instantly to answer it, grateful for the distraction. Nodding and making a few noises of confirmation, she hung up a few minutes later. 

"Grandpa is going to be staying on his trip for a little longer than expected. Aka, we need to get food and look after the house for another week."

Yugi nodded slightly and turned back to his breakfast, Yami returning to the table also. He looked up when he sensed Joey's eyes on him though, meeting the amused stare with a questioning one.

"What?"

"Oh nothin'. It's just that now you're going to have to deal with a five-thousand-year old pregnant woman pretty much on your own for another week," he grinned back, dodging the piece of toast that came flying at his head.

"Shut up Joey, or I will kill you."

"You know Yami, I think you're one of only a few people I know who would make good on that."

****

Seto Kaiba, usually calm, cool and holding an arrogant confidence like a cloak about himself was currently pacing up and down his spacious office in a state of near-panic. Today's work was scattered about his desk and the computer screen was dark from being ignored for so long, neither of concern to the CEO today.

The virus, thankfully only lasting a day in at its worst which unfortunately forced him off work, had also raised a more pressing issue that currently had his brain tied up in knots.

Questions concerning Yami had driven him to distraction ever since she had come over such as 'why' and 'does she actually care?'. It was easy when he thought of her as the enemy and thought her opinion to be similar, but after that display of affection he was beginning to wonder what she did actually feel. Had he been too cold-hearted to her? She was only trying to help, but it was a knee-jerk reaction to having an opposing duelist in close quarters to him so she should have understood. Would she have known that he didn't mean it? Did he mean it?

Growling in frustration and running a hand through his hair again, Seto dropped into his chair and brought his fists up to his chin. Why did things have to be so damned complicated? They used to hate each other but now he wasn't sure what Yami felt although he was fairly confident that his feelings hadn't changed. She was carrying his child after a drunken, one-night chance event that would never have happened if he had been clear minded, so did the moral obligation still stand? Cold as he could be, Seto still had a sense of honor and rightness

Grudgingly acknowledging that he would not get anything done today until he sorted out the entire situation, however that could be done, Seto stalked out of his office and called on his car.

****

Yami and Joey were working their way through their third breakfast when Yugi came back in from the shop, his face appearing worried as he approached the table. Yami sensed something was up through their link, dropping he fork and waiting for him to speak.

"Uh, Yami. Seto just pulled up outside and he's asking for you. Says he wants to talk."

Nodding slightly, she left to change into clothes that she could go out in public in before striding through the shop and standing in the entrance in her standard pose, slightly suspicious as to why Seto had left work, actually left the office in the day, to see her. Taking and releasing a breathe slowly as the uniformed man stepped out of the car and opened the door, she strode forward radiating more calm than she felt and slid inside now sitting opposite the original passenger.

"Kaiba," she greeted quietly, shifting on the seat a little until she was comfortable, something that was beginning to become more and more of a struggle as the hours passed.

Seto nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement before leaning forward a little in the seat as the car began moving away from the shop. "We need to discuss a few things," he stated flatly.

Smirking a little at his business-like tone, Yami nodded and waved hand as an indication for him to continue. Narrowing his eyes slightly at her for her seemingly blase attitude to something that he was actually losing sleep over, Seto began speaking.

"I am aware that this period has probably been trying for you and, as I have an equal hand in blame for your discomfort, I will make you an offer. I am willing to offer funding for anything you and the child may need for the next few months as well as for as long as you want it after that."

Staring incredulously at him Yami didn't even give him the chance to continue, her anger flaring enormously. "Blame?! Funding?! I am not some damned-charity case that you have caused to come into existence! I don't need 'funding' and I can't believe that your supposed duties extend only through your wallet. You either have nothing to do with either of us and leave it at that or you take an active role. It's your choice because I'm tired of caring."

Yami was fairly glaring daggers and spewing fire at this point but getting that angry had its toll; raised blood pressure that consequently led to light-headedness, but she'd be damned to show that infront of Seto. Instead she settled for leaning back in the soft seat whilst maintaining her stare.

Seto had stared at those eyes whilst dueling so the fury that shone through them wasn't going to make him drop his gaze first. His temper had begun to rise at that outburst but snapping at her before hadn't gotten him anywhere. Dropping his eyes minutely, he took a calming breath before explaining in a remarkably rational tone.

"I only wish to assist you in any way that I can. I offered you a place at my house, an offer that you have obviously declined, as I have heard no word from you about it. I've taken that to mean that you want nothing to do with me in terms of the child but I am still morally obligated-no, not obligated. I *want***** to help you still so I am offering you something which you will not have to see or speak to me for. I take my family very seriously. I work hard because I do not want Mokuba to have less than the best. I want my own child to have the same."

It took a moment for Yami to absorb what he had just said fully so her own response was delayed. "I didn't ask about living with you because I thought you didn't really want me there and that it was simply an obligation that you had extended on your part. If you wanted to be around more, when you're not working obviously if there is such a time, I'd be happy to have your company."

Choosing to ignore the comment that implied he was always working, which is what everyone saw aside from Mokuba, Seto sat back in the seat mildly confused at how this conversation was going. Certainly has hadn't planned on it turning into anything sentimental!

"What could I do though?"

Yami smiled a little at that. Although he had looked after Mokuba since he was young, he was still very new at the earliest stages of parenthood. "Well, it needn't be anything big you know. It's the little things that mean a lot. Like how Yugi rubs my back when it aches or how Honda brings me strawberries all the time. Mai entertains any topic of conversation for as long as I need and Joey is constantly fussing that I don't lift anything heavy. Tea held back my hair when I was sick and Grandpa used to make herbal teas to settle my stomach. Something like that would be fine."

Seto was silent in thought still wanting to make some kind of gesture to show that he wanted to participate in his child's life, a show of affection or something. Then it clicked.

"Where will the baby be staying after it's born?"

Frowning a little at the slight change in topic, Yami answered slightly curiously. "In our room. Yugi doesn't mind and I'd prefer it to be near me."

"Do you have anything for it yet? A crib? Toys?"

"No of course not. It's bad luck to keep anything like that in the house until it's born."

Nodding, once again thoughtful as his eyes turned distant, he snapped his gaze back to Yami. "Can I make you another offer?"

"Depends on what it is. If it's something as impersonal as money again I don't want to know," Yami replied sternly, eyes narrowing at the prospect at what she had thought of as progress being undone in his next sentence.

"It's more of a choice. I have multiple spare rooms in my home; most of them are just storage for old prototypes of hardware I designed. I could convert one into a nursery and one into your own room. That way there would be plenty of space and Yugi wouldn't be woken up all the time for midnight feedings. I'm sure Mokuba wouldn't mind some company and I would certainly be happy knowing that you're all close and safe."

Despite being touched by this, particularly the last part of that speech, Yami shook her head slightly. "I couldn't; Yugi and Grandpa-"

"Or," Seto interrupted with a raised hand staring at her intently now. "I could arrange to have an extension built onto the Game Shop to make the living area a bit bigger so you'd have room for a nursery and anything else you wanted there. There's plenty of room to develop and I won't have a problem getting planning permission so it could be built and ready before the baby comes. I could get a crib specially carved and have a designer come up with a mural for the walls..."

Yami smiled broadly as he continued listing everything he'd put in that room and more. It was warming to see him getting so excited about it and his tone of voice was becoming more animated as he spoke, his hands moving to in broad gestures to accompany his words. He wasn't giving a straightforward offer out of necessity in a bored tone as if he were talking to an employee now; he was really excited by the prospect of helping. 

She was abruptly brought out of these musing when the ache that had been growing and fading over time suddenly flared abruptly to life. Actually gasping at the severe pain, silencing Seto as she did, she pressed a hand down over that spot in a futile effort to stop it.

Seto was next to her on the seat faster than she could blink, his hand moving over to her smaller one and clutching her wrist. "What is it?" he asked urgently sounding alarmed, the tone alien to his own ears.

Leaning into him as she tried to focus, Yami muttered a response through clenched teeth. "I don't know."

She suddenly jerked and shouted in agony, eyes clamping shut and a hand moving to her stomach. Seto had to gasp at what happened then.

Her entire form abruptly expanded, he features seeming to blur before settling again leaving the young man Yami had been before his unplanned dive into the fountain. His stomach was still swollen in this form, a feature that looked painful now that his hips were a lot narrower. It only lasted a few seconds before the body shifted again into its female stature.

Yami opened her eyes again briefly before they rolled and with a sigh she collapsed back against him. Wide eyed at what had just occurred, Seto quickly pulled out his phone and punched in the number for the Turtle Game Shop.

"Turtle Game Shop. Yugi Motou spe-"

"Yugi! I'm taking Yami to the Nyannichuan fountain."

"Seto? What-why?"

Seto looked down at the prone figure in his lap before replying grimly. "I think the curse is wearing off."

TBC

Ha ha! My first real cliffhanger! I am so proud! Well review me and make me a very happy lil' writer! Or I may do something nasty in the next chapter... (ominous cackling here)


	6. Guardians

Wow! Chapter 6 already! Thank you for all the reviews and keep on doing it because the encouragement I am getting is priceless. I am trying very hard to keep everyone in-character so please let me know if anything seems 'off' in this chapter and I'll make a note not to do it again. Okay? Thanks! Well, I'm going to introduce another plot into this so as to keep you interested. Let me know if I've kept you entertained through all this!

Chapter 6: Guardians

Despite reckless driving at breakneck speeds, it still took twenty minutes to reach the fountain, during which Yami's form 'flickered' six times much to Seto's despair. Thankfully she remained unconscious the entire journey as each transformation would obviously have been extremely painful for her to endure.

The second the car had pulled to a halt, Seto leapt out of the door carrying Yami new-bride fashion and ran towards the fountain, the small crowd of people parting in surprise as he ran through them blindly.

Stopping at the edge of the fountain, he lowered the lower half of her body into the water before submerging her entirely. There was a bright flash of light and a froth of bubbles before she re-emerged couching harshly, a hand moving to the ledge to support herself. Moving her sopping hair out of her eyes, she squinted at Seto curiously, silently inquiring what the hell had happened.

"Are you alright now?" he asked, ignoring the curious stares from the people around them as he knelt down to her eye-level. Receiving a wide-eyed nod, Seto moved his arms back into the fountain and lifted the soaked woman up out of the water, setting her down on unsteady legs and holding her waist until she regained her balance. Blushing slightly, she smiled her thanks before allowing herself to be led back into the car, gratefully wrapping the soft blanket that he produced from the trunk.

"Thank you," Yami murmured genuinely as Seto slid in beside her, tucking the blanket more securely around her shoulders and waist.

"You should talk to Yugi," Seto replied, motioning slightly at her head. "I called him to say I was bringing you here. He's probably having kittens now."

She barked a laugh. "That would certainly be a sight!"

Silencing her mind against that entertaining image, she settled back in the seat as the car pulled into motion once more. Reaching out and across the void that separated them, she called out to her lighter half, smirking at the instantaneous response.

//Yami! Are you alright?! What happened?! Are you coming home?//

//I'm Fine. The curse wore off but now it is fixed for the next few months. I believe Seto is driving me home now so I will see you soon and you can assure yourself of my wellbeing.//

//Alright. I'll be waiting for you.//

Snapping her mind back to her current location, Yami smirked in a reassuring fashion and began to wring out her hair inside the towel. "I think you should come into the shop with me when we get back, so you can talk to Grandpa about this whole extension thing."

****

YVO 

//Well, the extension idea went over well with Grandpa and Seto had a group of builders over at the Game Shop within a week. Not only is this going to allow another room in the living area but the shop itself can also be expanded meaning we can shelf and sell more merchandise. 

Turning to another matter that, in a sick little way, I find quite amusing, Yugi's wisdom teeth are finally coming through. This makes his bad moods as violent as mine now, a situation which is very volatile when my back hurts and his jaw aches and we are in the same room as each other. I can't help him with normal growth so he is on his own in terms of discomfort.

Seto came over this morning briefly to 'check in' as he put it before heading off to work, which I thought was sweet but I'll be stapled to the ground and having rodents consume my intestines before I admit that out loud.// 

****

When Yugi stalked into the living room, a warm cloth pressed against his cheek, the first thing he saw was Yami obviously in her own discomfort, squirming in a vain attempt to find a position in which she was comfortable. Flicking on the television, he turned back around to see that she had somehow managed to prop herself upside down on the sofa, her legs balanced in a relaxed manner on the top of the cushions and her hair dangling limply over the edge, her hands folded over her stomach.

"Comfy?" he asked in an amused tone, his brow raising at the sight.

Yami snorted, adjusting her shoulders minutely. "Yes, finally. Bloody pregnancy. I'm going to kill Seto if he appears before this ache stops."

Shaking his head slightly, Yugi took a seat opposite the sofa, still holding the warm cloth to his face. "I was wondering; how come the curse wore off when it should have lasted the rest of your life, and why don't you change back with different temperature water?"

Yami sighed slightly, the movement looking quite comical whilst in her current position. "I am guessing here, but I believe that the fact that I am little more than a five-thousand year old spirit with huge amounts of magical energy is having an impact on the effects of this curse. My magic is probably keeping me in this form and on some level slowly repelling the curse off of me as last week's incident seems to prove."

Nodding slightly as he turned over that explanation in his mind, Yugi came to the conclusion that it did in fact make a lot of sense. If Yami's magical energies were in fact causing the curse to slowly 'wear off', then is raised the question of whether Yami would keep returning to the spring to retain her female form or would she would allow herself to return to being male after the child was born.

Before Yugi could voice his thoughts he heard the post come and promptly got up to retrieve it. Freezing with surprise when he saw the front page of the newspaper, he called back to Yami through the wall. 

"Yami? Are you still on the sofa?"

"Yes Yugi. After all that effort I don't plan on moving soon either. Why?"

'Well, I just saw the paper and I don't think you should be standing up when you see it."

Knowing that Yami would get up at that, he hurriedly returned and stood over Yami's head. Fumbling with the paper until it was suspended the correct way in which to be read above her face, he winced slightly at the sound she made. It started as a gasp but tapered off into a growl.

Yami wanted Seto around right then so that she could wring his neck. The headline story this morning was that Seto was apparently to be a father and that a wedding was expected soon so as not to dishonor the mother. And right there, slapped onto the front page and filling up a depressing portion of it, was a photo of him leaning over her in a fawning position as she sat in the Nyannichuan fountain.

She was going to find that photographer and play a game with him with very, very high stakes the second she could move quickly again.

Face contorting as the discomfort permeating her entire form sky-rocketed, Yami squirmed upright and shoved herself off of the sofa and stalked towards the phone. Picking it up, she punched in Seto's office number quite viciously and stood positively fuming as she waited for him to pick up. He had given her his private number so that she could contact him immediately in an emergency. This certainly counted as one.

"Seto Kai-"

"Have you seen today's paper?!" Yami yelled down the receiver before he could finished his standard greeting.

Seto frowned as he pulled the phone away from his ear so as not to go deaf at the volume of her voice. "Yami? No I haven't, why?"

"Just. Read. It," she hissed squeezing the phone hard now as she held the paper up again, barely restraining the urge to shred the damned thing. The sound of papers rustling could be heard before a litany of curses, a few select words from the article being mumbled as he quickly read it.

"I don't believe this. A bloody tourist took the photo last week by mistake, recognized my face when it was developed and sold it yesterday to the press."

"I'm not going to be able to go outside for a while, am I?"

"No, not on your own at least."

Yami nodded with a resigned sigh. Too many knew Seto's face and he had a lot of enemies that would be more than happy to use her against him. She was a liability now, or at least until Seto released a statement saying that it was false and that she was just a friend.

"Do you want me to send someone over to pick you up?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Why?"

Seto smirked a little down the phone. He had intended to keep this to himself for a few more months but in light of recent events, he figured that Yami could use some cheering up right then. "I have a surprise here I think you'll like."

Her interest perked now, she looked over at Yugi who simply shrugged with a smile. "I need to look after the shop with Grandpa so you can go if you like."

Nodding her thanks, Yami asked in a low voice, "can you come and pick me up? We don't know if an enemy of yours recognizes my face and knows where I live."

"Sure, I'll be over in a little while."

"Thank you."

Hanging up, Yami turned feeling a great sense of relief that abruptly left when she saw Yugi practically bouncing on his toes and grinning like an idiot. Her crimson eyes narrowed suspiciously as she crossed her arms defensively. 

"What are you so happy about, Aibou?"

Yugi grinned even harder. "You and Seto are getting together," he replied in a sing-song voice.

Quietly ignoring the heat rising in her cheeks, Yami shook her head in denial. "No we aren't, Yugi. He's simply taking some responsibility for what is happening." 

"No, I think he likes you like you like him, so stay over there with him as long as you want."

Before Yami could gather a response to that very direct statement, Yugi promptly left for the Game Shop leaving Yami gawking at nothing. Scrubbing her hands through her hair irritably, she followed and strolled through the shop ignoring her Light who was serving a customer, looking up long enough to grin at her as she passed. She was only stood outside for five minutes before Seto's car pulled up, the CEO getting out and opening the door for her himself after glancing up and down the street suspiciously.

The journey back to Kaiba.Corp was spent in silence, Yami puzzling over her Aibou's last sentence and Seto wondering how he could protect her until he could sort this entire thing out.

****

"So what is this surprise?" Yami asked as they stood beside a locked door at the end of one of the more private corridors at Kaiba.Corp. Seto merely smiled and produced a keycard, swiping it through the slot and pushing the door open to allow her to enter.

The room was dark as they entered, Seto thumbing on the lights once they were both inside and the door was looked. The room was now dimly illuminated; the lights sending soft shadows about the spacious room. 

Stunned, Yami approached the object in the center of the floor slowly, a hand reaching out to run over it's smooth surface when she reached it. Running slender fingers over the intricately carved wood, she felt Seto come up behind her and place a warm hand on her shoulder.

"It was delivered yesterday. I was going to move it into the nursery as a surprise in a few weeks but I thought you'd like to see it now," he murmured, running his own hand along the soft wood of the crib.

Smiling broadly, Yami reached a hand out to one of the four sculptured posts, tapping the head of the carved Blue-Eyes-White-Dragon lightly. The beast's tail was coiled about the length of the post and its head was facing into the cot, it's fore-legs raised protectively. Two other identical dragons decorated the other posts and a Dark-Magician with staff standing erect knelt formally on the remaining.

"Guardians?" 

"I thought a personal touch would be appropriate for the Queen of Games."

Nodding slightly with her mouth pulled into an amused smile, Yami actually paused to think about that title. Her conversation with Yugi earlier returned to mind and she turned to face him, her stomach brushing against his slightly as he was stood so close.

"What happens in seven and a half months? Give or take a week."

Seto frowned in confusion at that, knowing that she was indicating the curse would wear off again by then but not quite sure what she meant by bringing it up. "You'll go back to Nyannichuan for another 'dose', won't you?"

Yami sighed wearily; she had been afraid of this. "Seto, this isn't my true form. I'm not comfortable like this."

"Well or course you're not. You're six months pregnant; you're supposed to be uncomfortable."

"Before then. I'm only staying like this so I won't kill the child, and likely myself changing back to what I should be. But I don't know what happens when it asks what happened to its mother."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?" Seto reasoned as he placed both his hands on her shoulders and began rubbing his thumbs soothingly at the muscles between neck and shoulder. He knew he had to keep her calm; a raised blood pressure would be the last thing they needed.

"'We'?" Yami asked, a damnable hopeful feeling swelling up from inside her gut. 

Seto gave a half shrug and a small smile. "I can't exactly let you be a single parent, can I?"

"I was hoping you'd say something like that."

TBC

Only a demi-cliffhanger here so don't send any harm my way. As always, reviews are helpful. The only reason this chapter was posted (and written!) today was because of a big ol' bunch of reviews that were extremely encouraging and inspiring so the quicker and the more you write, the quicker and more you shall receive. So press the button and tell me what you think!


	7. Flare

Chapter 7, now aren't I doing well? The feedback and encouragement I'm getting is priceless so I extend my gratitude to you all! Thanks! I do write depending on the number of reviews I get simply because it is inspiring to read! 

For those of you who have stated that you keep checking the story for updates, I can tell you now that I DO NOT update any other day than Friday, simply because my access to the Internet, erm, moves... So only check on Fridays because I won't be posting on any other date. If there is any change in that I will dutifully let you know.

Also, let me know what you'd like to read in future chapters as I'm always happy to incorporate outside ideas, which is something that I have already planned to do with the content of one particularly interesting review... 

I'm dipping out of the humour element a little here and moving onto a more dramatic style, but tell me if you prefer it in the style it was in before if you're not happy. I live to please. And for reviews which come from pleasing...

Borath ;p

****

Chapter 7: Flare

YVO

//The extension to the Game Shop and the house is just about finished now, which is miraculous as the builders have been working within strict hours under Seto's orders so as not to disturb us early in the morning or late in the evening should we be sleeping. I wanted to send all their souls to Hell after the first few days when they did not work abiding to these rules and after I screamed at them all for a while they decided that following orders would be better for their personal safety. Being a dark creature does have its uses...

At just under seven months 'along' now the child has actually started moving around, something which was quite pleasant at first but has quickly become a nuisance as it keeps waking me up. 

Yugi's reaction the first time it kicked was priceless and there has been very little time ever since when his hand is not on my stomach. I'm a little worried about Joey though, as I don't think it likes him; it gets rather violent when he speaks near me now. 

Sleep is becoming infrequent now meaning that I am spending most nights looking out of the window and letting my mind wander aimlessly, a less than productive use of my time.

Whilst on the topic of 'wasting my time', another stupid event that I am required to participate in every week are these lamas class things. Seto and the others are insisting that I attend and I think the sole reason that I am putting up with the head-woman's incessant prattling is because one of them has taken to standing guard outside to ensure I don't escape during the session. They keep changing every week so I don't know which of the group I need to blackmail or threaten to get them to piss off each time. 

Learning about feeding, setting up cots, handling a child and so forth has been useful, yes, but we have finished those lessons now and are focussing solely on breathing, which I am quite capable of doing on my own. Remembering to respire during birth is something that I don't think I need to have drilled into me! 

It's also a bit strange being around all the other pregnant women as they all seem willing, eager even, to share some of the most intimate experiences they have had during their own pregnancy or previous births. I really don't want to know how wide they were dilated at birth in terms of their husband's fingers! I don't! 

Some of the topics of conversation have made me squirm more than once simply because I am a male mind in a female body. The rest have had all of their lives to get used to every little aspect of their body whilst I have only had a year in mine. 

I voiced such thoughts to Seto and he said that he would accompany me to the next session, an offer that I had declined from him when I first started attending. Having him listen to a discussion on my cervix was a little much then with our 'relationship' having been so tenuous. I think that aspect of my life is improving steadily though. Yugi is hyper about that as well as the baby kicking, by the way.//

****

Yugi had been flicking through some new comic books that had come in today with Honda, Joey and Tea when Yami stalked in with Seto in tow. The latter was holding a cold pack to his left eye and looked a little pale whilst the former had eyes that could melt steel.

"Whoa Seto! What happened? You alright?" Joey asked when he saw the older boy readjust the pack against his face marginally.

"Yami had one of her mood swings," he grumbled, making a note to move a good distance away from her as he said that so that the counter and the others were between himself and the wrathful women.

Her ruby eyes grew large at that, her lips twisting into a snarl. "Me?! You're the one who fainted!"

"Well you didn't have to hit me when I came to!" Seto shouted back as he slammed the cold pack down on the counter, revealing a rather impressive bruise over his right eye.

"At least I waited until you came to before hitting you! And I think I had the right to after that bloody video!"

He gawked at her incredulously. "It's childbirth! It isn't my fault you're scared!"

"It's your fault I'm in this position in the first place! And you Joey," she added, flickering fiery eyes to Joey who made a small 'eep' sound before wisely sprinting out of the shop as fast as possible. "And I am not scared."

"Well, your reaction proves otherwise. That or you're just mental," Seto stated flatly before following Joey's escape route out, leaving her standing silently whilst Yugi, Honda and Tea shifted uncertainly.

Sighing, Yami brought her hands up to her face and buried her fingers into her hair. "Urgh, that was stupid."

"Why did you hit Seto, Yami? I thought everything was going so well," Tea asked softly, stepping forward and placing a hand gently on her shoulder.

Yami dropped her hands to her sides, the fires in her eyes having diminished now as her anger fled. "It was. It was all going beautifully. He's is wrong though. I'm not scared; I'm terrified. This whole thing feels like some sick cosmic joke. I have no idea what the Gods were thinking setting all those events off at the same time when this all started."

Yugi frowned and stared at the floor in concentration. When he spoke it was in a small voice, a note of hesitancy in his tone as he slowly dragged his eyes up to his other half. "Yami? Do you even want the baby?"

Yami snapped her eyes to her Light instantly, her face twitching with hurt when she heard the sincerity in the question. "Of course I do. You can feel my emotions through our bond, Aibou. You know how happy it makes me. It's all just too much sometimes. And now I have just done a fantastic job of making it much worse. I really have a problem with my temper, always have. If I don't like it or am afraid of it, I attack it. Through some warped logic I decided to choose Seto as my punching bag today."

"You should apologize to him, and probably to Joey too. I bet he's hiding somewhere now though," Yugi said smiling ironically. 

"I should, but I doubt either of them want to talk to me right now. I'll try and find Joey whilst I let Seto cool down though. That article about him not being the father has been out a few weeks now so I'm not in any danger on my own," she reasoned already moving back out of the shop.

"Famous last words," Honda muttered loud enough for Yugi and Tea to hear. 

He knew that Yami was just being her usual stubborn self but he was quickly growing sick and tired off all this denial between her and Seto. It was a thick cloud that everyone save for those two could see and he was at the end of his tether waiting for them to come to terms with both of their feelings on their own. As a matter of fact so was everyone else. Mai had said only the other day that she was going to go over to the Kaiba mansion and demand that he get his head together if they didn't become a proper item soon.

Glancing nervously at Honda at those words, Yugi started out after Yami before Tea caught up to him and held him back. "You need to look after the shop. I'll stay with her and make sure she doesn't get into any more trouble."

"Thank you," he murmured before watching her jog to catch up to his Dark. Shaking his head silently and sending a silent prayer that they would get all of this sorted out soon, Yugi moved back to the counter and hopped up, returning his attention to the comic.

****

"What are you going to say to him?" Tea asked finally, glancing down at her shorter companion. They had been walking for fifteen minutes together quite comfortably now, exchanging small talk and generally just hunting down the missing teen. They were currently working their way through the park, the cluster of dark trees to their left and the open field where a group of boys were playing some kind of game on their right.

"Something like 'Joey, I'm sorry for threatening your immediate existence and promise not to glare at you when I look at pickles and feel the urge to retch any more'. I think that sounds acceptable, don't you?" Yami replied dryly, eyes locked straight ahead along the path they were travelling. Her body was beginning to tire again which wasn't making searching for Joey any easier. 

"That sounds pretty good coming from someone like you."

Yami chose to ignore that, knowing full well that she was referring to her pride and stubbornness. Those had been valuable aspects of his personality during his imprisonment in the Puzzle when he needed all the determination he could muster simply to hold onto his sanity. The result had left him cold-hearted when he finally emerged when Yugi assembled the Puzzle and broke the seal binding him, but some of his Aibou's loving ways had rubbed off and allowed some of the feelings he had lost to return. 

But after relying on pride and determination for so long to fuel his floating spirit, they had become deeply engrained into his personality and had, arguably, turned into weaknesses. The instinct to lash out stemmed from those feelings and that made her condition and relationship with Seto even harder to handle than they should have been.

"Have you come up with any names for the baby yet?" Tea asked breaking into her thoughts. She was thankful for the distraction though, her mind taking more depressing turns with every second he allowed it to travel.

"We both agreed on some a while ago actually. Kiara if it is a girl and Kiroko if it's a boy."

Tea smiled warmly as she turned the names over in her mind, testing them on her tongue and finding that she enjoyed how exotic the second name felt when she spoke it. "Those are beautiful names. Why don't you know the gender of the baby yet? The doctor should be able to tell by now."

"I'd rather it be a surprise. Seto thinks so too," Yami smiled back, a hand wandering absently to her stomach. She stopped then, eyes snapping into focus and wandering warily about their surroundings. Something felt wrong here. Extremely wrong.

Tea stopped when she heard Yami stop, turning to stand a few feet away from her. "What's wrong?"

"I can sense something. I'm not sure but it feels dark. We need to get out of here," she replied quickly, eyes narrowing as she scanned the shadows between the trees suspiciously. 

No sooner than had they started a brisk pace out of the park when the roar of an engine could be heard behind them, the sound of tires crushing the gravel on the path signaling the machine's approach.

A large motorbike, jet-black in colour with silver highlights, swerved across their path, some kind of symbol imprinted on the substantial faring that couldn't be identified at the speed it was traveling. The passenger released one hand from the grab-rail and raised the small baton in the air, bringing it down hard against the back of Tea's head as the driver brought them around on another pass.

Tea collapsed instantly, a small trail of blood leaking from beneath her dark hair, Yami shouting her name as she fell. Expecting an attack now, Yami yelped in surprise when the bike swerved tightly past again instead, the second rider tightening his legs about his partner and expertly leaning over the side of the bike to grasp her beneath the shoulders. The driver leant to the opposite side as a counter weight, displaying that this had been well planned before they left.

Hauling her weight into his lap, he ignored the elbows he received to his armored torso and reached up a gloved hand to her head and pressed his fingers firmly across her temple. The effect was instantaneous and he settled her now prone body against his with one arm, the other still gripping the back of the bike for balance.

Feeling that the pair had finally stopped shifting around behind, the driver turned the bike off of the straight course that had been required for the maneuver, dropping off of the sidewalk outside of the park and beginning the drive back.

****

Returning to the world of the living was like surfacing from a great depth. Yami gasped in a breath when sensation returned abruptly, coughing hard and rolling painfully onto her side. Her head pounded and her back felt like it had been led on a stone floor for the last hour.

Opening her eyes slowly, she found that, ironically enough, she was led on a stone floor. No wonder she ached. The last few moments of memory came crashing into her head and Yami bolted upright despite the pain, searching her cell for Tea. Apparently she was alone although she could see a guard sitting in a chair facing into her cell through the smooth metal bars of the door.

Reaching a hand to her neck she found that the reassuring weight of the puzzle was gone meaning that she couldn't contact Yugi mentally. Placing a hand on her swollen stomach, she closed her eyes in concentration and extended her senses to check if whatever the rider had done had caused any damage to the child. She felt a knot in her stomach ease a little when she found nothing, her baby squirming and fidgeting quite contently. //Ignorance is bliss.//

"There has been no harm caused to your child, my dear, so you needn't be concerned. Actually I was given specific instructions not to damage either of you which is why I used my own particular skills to incapacitate you. I believe that you're lower back is aching now? I have already requested that a couch be sent down for your comfort and it should arrive shortly. It should have already been there before you regained consciousness but the incompetent idiots above failed to carry out that simple task. My apologies for your discomfort."

Yami stared in bewilderment at the guard whose head was now raised. The young man smiled slightly at her, slender arms crossed across his chest as he sat easily on the slight wooden chair. His hair was of a peculiar shade of purple and seemed to reach his shoulders, the ends tapering off into a lavender shade from where they protruded from the tight ponytail at the base of his skull. Twin scars ran across the length of either cheekbone at the bottom of each eye-socket, the dark marks appearing as it a blunt blade had been drawn through the flesh beneath each eye.

It was his eyes though which interested Yami most though. Shaped eerily like her own, the irises were coal black and the pupils a bloody shade of red. He held her gaze steadily for a few moments before standing, stepping towards the bars and moving his hand to something to the right. Producing a small china cup of steaming liquid from what was evidently a small table against the wall, he knelt down and pushed it through the slot at the base of the door, stepping back and watching her once more.

"I recommend that you drink that. It is quite a wondrous mixture of various herbs that should alleviate the pains in your back and head. When you are finished, I would appreciate it if you would kindly push the cup back through the slot so that I may retrieve it."

Never taking her eyes off of the guard, who was standing in a non-threatening and non-intimidating pose a few feet from the door, Yami reached forward and lifted the cup up from the floor. Smelling the sweet liquid before concentrating on he substance for a few moments, she downed it quickly and placed the cut back on the floor, the Eye of Horus quickly fading from her fore-head from where she had inspected the tea.

Pushing it back through the slot, she used the bars as leverage to stand and stood in her usual stance facing the guard, her eyes crossed and head slightly lowered as she regarded him critically.

Smiling and tipping his head in thanks, he knelt down and picked up the empty cut, placing it back on the table before returning to his chair. Having had enough now, Yami snapped out, "What are you?"

The guard smiled broadly, an action that complimented his warm features. "What I am is not important, not at this precise moment anyway. My employer should be more in your interest of knowing than me. But you may call me Tetsuo. Would you prefer to be called Miss Mutou or Yami? I have no profound desire to offend you," he replied smoothly, ignoring the look she gave him at his cryptic response.

"Only my friends can call me Yami," she replied flatly, shifting her weight to her other foot.

Tetsuo nodded slightly, his smile broadening. "Well, for now then I shall address you as Miss Mutou but that may change. I always have enjoyed a challenge."

Having enough of this creature's enigmatic responses, Yami clenched her hands into fists and practically growled out her next question. "Who is your employer."

Tetsuo didn't answer that, looking up instead down the hallway to his left with interest. His devilish eyes followed whoever was approaching silently, the broad man stepping into Yami's view totally ignoring him. "Yami-Yugi, I am disappointed. I would have imagined you to have everything figure out by now. You have the mind for that, even though your common-sense is lacking, something that showed in your foolish efforts when we last faced each other. My how you have changed though."

Yami's eyes narrowed to burning slits, the acknowledgement ground out from between gritted teeth. "Pegasus."

TBC

Yup, I am totally screwing up continuity and, in general, the plot of the entire series. I haven't seen any further than 'Match of the Millennium: Part 3' so I'm getting all my information from Internet sources, which I am now ignoring totally. 

I OFFICIALLY CLAIM THIS FICTION AS AU (ALTERNATE UNIVERSE) SO DON'T GO FLAMING MY ASS AT THE END OF THE NEXT CHAPTER WITH THINGS LIKE 'OH THAT CAN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE....' AND SUCH. I WILL NOT LISTEN BECAUSE I"VE ALREADY SAID THAT I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!

Ah, the freedom of writing... You've gotta love it! Anyway, same-old-same-old, leave a review and tell me how I'm doing. First Yu-Gi-Oh fic EVER so be nice and only give constructive criticism. 

Now, I'm going to be really cruel and offer you a choice concerning the posting date of chapter 8. Because of all of the fucked-up stuff going on that I need to assist in sorting out, I likely won't be writing for a few weeks. Next week I'll be hammering out a chapter or two but then the well is going to temporarily dry up for a week or more. 

I have chapter 8 with me... Now... Completed. But I don't know whether to post it yet. Hear me out: I can either give you all a steady drip of chapters once a week on Fridays, as I had planned by pre-writing all this stuff for me 'dry-period', or I can give you the next chapter tomorrow and leave you hanging after next Friday's chapter for a fortnight. 

Look, lots of reviews that are;

A: Nice and praise-filled.

B: Tell me how great I am and that they can't wait to see what happens next.

C: Give suggestions for future chapters

Will mean that you get the next chapter within 28 hours. Not so many of these and you won't hear from me until next Friday, and then it'll be steady input after that until the end of the ficlet (which is currently unknown by me).

You're choice. I don't give a damn. That's why I'm asking you.


	8. Demons

Long chapter and it's a bit darker so an opinion is needed at the end of it. I'm on new ground here so all the advice I can get is helpful.

I am screwing up the plot of the animated series and I do not know the magna so don't bother shouting at me. I'll ignore you. Enjoy this chapter by the way as I preplanned it! Wow! Yay me!

I'm taking on board some of the suggestions that have been sent my way by the way, but I'm not saying who's are what so as to give you some surprises. I hope you enjoy this slightly darker turn I'm taking. It'll only last another chapter and a half then I'm back to my usual humor-self. I was just growing a bit tired of going around in the same bloody circles to the extent that I wanted to drive my key-board through my skull... Enjoy the distraction whilst it lasts and tell me what you think!

****

Chapter 8: Demons

The broad figure smiled, moving his hand to one of the pockets of his red suit and producing an object from the material depths. Holding up Yami's dueling deck, still inside the water-proof case she kept it in, Pegasus handed it to Tetsuo without looking, his cold eye still fixed on Yami as the Millennium Eye sparkled in the dim lighting.

"I shouldn't worry, Yami. I have no interest in you this time; my motives are purely business. I am, displeased, that my previous efforts to take over Kaiba.Corp have failed, and as of such I am planning to take the company using a different tactic to my former methods which have proved unsuccessful. As he is the father of your son there, I believe that you are a rather good bargaining chip to accomplish my goals."

Yami was sure that her face had remained coldly neutral throughout that self-important speech of his, but apparently Pegasus had seen something for he smiled in amusement and tipped his head to the side considering her. "You didn't know? Well I am surprised. The great Game King not knowing exactly what is going on at all times nor making an attempt. How interesting. Perhaps your prolonged period in that new body of yours is affecting your mind more than I had originally thought. No matter though."

"You won't achieve your goals Pegasus. You cannot compete with Kaiba in the business arena and win. He will crush you," she replied confidently, glaring with gusto at her old opponent.

Pegasus laughed, an ugly sound that made her want to strangle him just to cut off the noise. "Oh, I don't think so. Anyway, I did not come down here to converse with you, no matter how entertaining you are proving to be. I only wished to inform you of why you are here. If you do not cause too much of a problem then no harm will come to you. If you do-"

"No harm will come to her."

Pegasus turned slowly to face Tetsuo, his brow raised in surprise. Yami also clicked her eyes to him sharply, her own eyes widened at the firm tone in which he had suddenly spoken in.

"I beg your pardon Tetsuo," he demanded tightly, his back rigid now as he stared down at the smaller man who was still sat casually in his chair, staring up with resolution at his 'boss'. 

"I said, she will not be harmed. It is not necessary to you and I shall see to it that she remains untouched personally if you disagree," Tetsuo replied evenly, his devilish eyes holding a steely tint as he held Pegasus's angered stare without flinching.

"You, are under only alive under my orders. You have no reason to believe that I won't kill you if you continue this insubordination," his employer hissed back with venom, his hands curling into fists. Yami had never heard such anger in his usually cool voice before; this guard was something interesting indeed.

"What makes you believe that you can kill me," Tetsuo countered, his hands raising and fingertips lightly coming together, his eyes still on Pegasus's. 

Yami gasped at the sensation that rolled through her when he parted his fingers, her eyes rolling drunkenly before she regained her senses and grounded herself. Unable to see what was happening with Pegasus stood between her and the guard, she could still feel the enormous levels of dark energies that were swirling and pulsating in the room. Apparently Pegasus could sense it too, taking a step back from the still-sitting and yet menacing form. The power quickly faded as Tetsuo lowered his hands, a dangerous smirk pulling at his lips now.

"We will discuss this later," Pegasus snapped before turning on his heel and striding out of Yami's sight, the sound of his footsteps resounding as he walked down the corridor and slammed the heavy metal door shut behind him.

Tetsuo watched him go before clicking his eyes back to Yami. "Your couch should be arriving any minute now. I will require you to stand in the corner of your cell until it has been deposited and the men have left."

"You're from the Shadow Realm," Yami murmured in realisation, her skin still tingling at the contact with such dark energies. It had taken her a few moments to remember that feeling; it had been a long time since she was in the presence of such a powerful wielder of dark magic.

He grinned, seemingly pleased that she had figured it out so quickly. "Yes, as are you in a sense, Yugioh. I must say it is good to see you again, although I am fully aware that you do not have any memory of me. Such is the curse of being imprisoned for so many years inside a magical item."

"How do I know you?" Yami asked, admittedly curious now.

"You summoned me when you were pharaoh to forge the eight Millennium items before you sealed the entrances to the Shadow Realm. To encase such powerful magical energies you needed a powerful sorcerer to aid you and you chose me. I was returned to the Shadow Realm after you died securing the seal, but Pegasus dragged me back out a few years ago when he began to reassemble the Shadow Games once again. 

"I believe he wished to make me a card as I had been before, but because you had summoned me once before and with the powers of his Millennium Eye still unpredictable to him, he inadvertently gave my soul a physical body. I have been in his employment ever since, which I have no real problem with."

"I'm sorry. I don't remember. But if you have indeed served me before why do you hold me prisoner now?"

"I am still protecting you. I have already said as much but I have no profound desire to make myself a significant problem to Pegasus. I have no desire to try and exist in this reality, in this century, on my own and I certainly have no desire to harm you. You will be released without incident when Mr. Kaiba bows to Pegasus's demands or, somehow, you manage to escape."

The last was said with a sly smile, his eyes darkening as they narrowed. Yami smiled also, nodding her head in a silent acknowledgement. "Why does Pegasus trust you? With his Eye he can easily tell when you lie or are concealing an emotion."

"My powers have not diminished in this world and despite his thoughts otherwise, he is not in complete control of that Eye. His arrogance clouds his judgement and that has allowed me to harness some of its powers. As a result, he cannot see what I truly think or feel. This could be helpful if Kaiba does not succumb to his demands and he attempts to harm you or the child."

He fell silent, standing up and motioning with a hand that Yami should move back. Steeping obediently into the far corner, Yami watched as the bars that comprised the cell door rose up and slid into the ceiling, leaving the doorway open for two men carrying a long piece of furniture to step through.

Placing the black leather couch on the floor, their eyes flickering to Yami warily, they moved back out and Tetsuo pressed the button beside the door again to bring the bars back down. Once they were locked back into place, Yami stepped back out of the corner and immediately moved to the couch, sighing in relief when she relaxed her weigh into the smooth material, the well padded surface easing the pain that had been shooting up and down her spine.

Waiting until the men had left, Tetsuo returned to his seat, stretching his legs out infront of him and crossing them at the ankles. "I have been wiping the tapes from the microphone in this corridor for the last few minutes but the technicians will suspect something is afoot if I do not relinquish control now. It would be preferable if you would refrain from speaking about anything I have just said to you."

"I understand. Thank you."

"You are most welcome."

****

"And you have absolutely no idea where he's holding her?" Yugi practically shouted at Seto, jumping abruptly from the seat as he finished relaying the details he had just received. The CEO had just arrived at the Game Shop after receiving a call from Pegasus demanding total ownership of Kaiba.Corp within the next forty-eight hours or he would begin to carry out his threats on Yami.

"Outside of the Duelist Kingdom I was unaware that he even had a facility. It isn't unfeasible that he had one built recently though, or he could have bought a building to do this. He has the money for it," Seto growled beginning to feel physically sick with concern now.

Tearing out his cell-phone, he punched in the number of the phone he had given Joey before he left with Honda to search for Tea. He could hear the teen struggling with something when he picked up, his breath coming hard down the line.

"Before ya ask we found Tea. She ain't looking too good though so we're taking her to the hospital now," he hissed down the line, grunting quietly as he adjusted Tea's weight around his neck. 

The girl was still out cold, the blood drying down her back relaying the threat of a concussion. Honda had an arm around her waist lifting her slightly and Joey had one of her arms slung around his neck, his hand gripping her wrist firmly. They had been carrying her weight completely off of the ground before the phone rang but they didn't have time to stop moving whilst he talked.

"No. I've got a car out just tell me where you are and I'll bring you all here. I'll get a doctor too but we need to find out what the hell happened. Tea may be able to say where he took her."

"Stop shouting in my ear! We're... Outside of the arcade heading towards the pools."

Seto hung up instantly, punching in another number and stepping outside as he talked to the driver, planning to move swiftly onto the doctor's surgery after he finished that call.

Mai gave Yugi a small smile although her eyes were deeply concerned. "Can't you feel her? We could track her down if we knew which direction to head in."

Yugi shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut to stop the tears that threatened to fall. "I don't think she has the puzzle on. I can't feel her at all."

Mai put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically, well aware of how close the pair where. They were essentially one person and the feeling of having the other half of his essence cut off from him must have had him feeling terrible. In the physical sense Yugi looked pale, his hands twisting with each other nervously.

Seto re-emerged slipping his phone back into his pocket and taking a seat back at the table. He had barely sat down before the small device rung again. Frowning slightly, he pulled it back out again quickly and snapped down the line. Falling silent as he listened, Yugi and Mai saw him visibly pale before he jumped to his feet and began to practically scream curses down the line.

Cutting off the connection, he took a calming breath before meeting their eyes. "That was Pegasus. He has Tea, Joey and Honda too now."

"What can we do?" Yugi asked, eyes hardening with resolve. He had faced that lunatic before and was more than prepared to face him again, especially now that so many of his friends were in danger.

"I don't think there's anything we can do until we track down where he's holding them. I'll make some calls and see what buildings have had particularly high-tech security systems, computers and so forth installed. You two stay here incase by some miracle they get out and call."

Seto stalked back out to call one of his more valuable contacts in the country leaving Yugi and Mai alone once more.

"I hope they're alright. I'd feel better if I could feel Yami, but I can't feel anything without her puzzle on her."

****

"Give me the puzzle, Tetsuo," Yami demanded, reasoning that if Pegasus had given him her deck then he would probably be in possession of the puzzle too.

He shook his head slightly, standing unexpectedly and thumbing the controls for her door. "I do not have it otherwise you would be wearing it. I can only do so much and right now it is up to you, Yugioh. Please come with me. Something has happened and Pegasus has requested your presence above level."

Frowning as she tried to figure out what the hell had happened now, Yami moved off of the couch and approached the doorway. Once she had stepped outside, she felt a prickle of power from Tetsuo as he took her elbow gently in his gloved hand. Leading her down the corridor silently, they entered the lift at the end and watched the display light up as they rose. Apparently they had been on the deepest sublevel, some ten levels beneath the ground. Now they were rising to the twelfth floor, the lift chiming and the metal doors sliding open to allow them out of the tight space.

Yami rolled her eyes when she found herself to be in what could only be described as a throne room, the high ceiling walls lined with pillars and the tall curtains adorned with thick curtains that were pulled to one side. She could see her reflection in the floor as she approached the large chair at the far end of the room in which Pegasus sat, one long leg cross over the other and his finger-tips placed together infront of his eyes.

"Yami, I do believe I have found a more productive way of bringing Kaiba.Corp into my possession, and a few other trinkets whilst I am at it, and you're going to help me."

That was the only warning he gave before the room lurched and Yami felt her very soul being dragged out of her body by the Millennium Eye. Blinking to clear the disorientation of being pulled so abruptly into the Shadow Realm without using her own magic, Yami glanced about herself briefly. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a tall figure standing just to the right behind her. 

It was Tetsuo, but instead of the customary black suit that his uniform comprised off, he now wore long, thick, sleeveless robes. Coal black, they were lined with a red the same hue as his pupils which seemed to glow in the dim. Peculiar markings in red and black criss-crossed up the length of both his arms and smaller symbols seemed to pour from the scars beneath this eyes continuously, the marks disappearing down his throat and into the dark folds of his robes. His hair remained the same; still a paling shade of purple pulled into a tail only this time there was a more intricate ornament holding it back rather than a simple tie.

Pegasus seemed less than pleased that he had come with them from the way he was glaring at the creature. Tetsuo's face remained stony and impassive though, staring forward seemingly into nothing as he stood regally.

Something felt wrong though, aside from the fact that the puzzle's weight was not against her chest as it should have been, even in this realm. Looking down, her eyes widened slightly when Yami saw that she had actually become a 'he' once more. His stomach entirely flat now, he could see his blue boots and saw that he was also in the clothes that he wore during the Duelist Kingdom.

"I thought it fitting that in this final duel you should appear as you did when we first met. Of course this form is merely a metaphysical of your mind so your son is still kicking away in your physical body," Pegasus assured in a voice that was anything but assuring.

"State your purpose for bringing us here," Yami snapped, his deeper voice resonating in the inky blackness that surrounded them.

Pegasus smiled oily, pleased that Yami's character hadn't changed since they had last met face-to-face. "Of course, you always were impatient. It's quite simple; we will both put up two things that we want and then duel for them. Will you duel?"

Yami paused in thought at that. Ordinarily he would have dueled without question as Pegasus obviously had something that he wanted, even if he was currently unaware of it. But in the Shadow-Realm any damage done to her monsters during the game would be reflected onto himself; their minds were connected to this game and if the mind is damaged then the body follows. He couldn't afford that with his body in it's current state. 

"No."

Pegasus was obviously surprised at the response, his expression displaying as much before it smoothed over into its usual arrogant state. He had expected Yami too comply and then demand that they start immediately. This was most unusual.

"I will not duel you, but I shall play another game with you, one that is not tied as greatly to my physical state as Duel Monsters. What are you playing for?"

He smirked. Yami was so predictable at times. "If I win, I will automatically obtain ownership of Kaiba.Corp-"

"That isn't mine to wager!" Yami interrupted growing more furious by the second. Being dragged into the Shadow Realm through his nemeses' powers rather than his own was bad enough, but now the lunatic was making these ridiculous demands of him.

"No, but I think that the second thing that I bet will be incentive enough to make you wager that," Pegasus replied easily before waving a hand, a spotlight illuminating a few yards behind and to the side of him. Yami watched as three figures huddled on the ground came into view, grinding his teeth hard when he recognized them.

Joey and Honda were both knelt either side of Tea who seemed to be injured and unconscious on the ground. The blond had his arm raised to shield his eyes from the light but lowered it when he spotted Yami. Shouting soundlessly, he motioned to Tea before making various gestures at Pegasus, obviously unaware that he couldn't be heard.

"I tire quickly of their cheer-leading, so I thought it better for them to be silent this time. Now, if I win, I will take over Kaiba.Corp without question and retain ownership of their souls, although I may be too late for the girl. Her injury is quite severe."

"Damn you Pegasus! Fine, but if I win, you'll return my friends to me and allow us to all go free. Also, you will never make another attempt to take Kaiba.Corp as your own," Yami shouted even though it was not necessary. His voice carried easily over the void, but with the anger threatening to overflow in his spirit he felt the need to release some of the emotions, lest he have Pegasus headless and gutted despite the consequences.

"Deal. Now, as I brought you here quite against your will I shall allow you to chose the game."

"We will select a single card, not from our own decks, but from the Shadow Realm itself. The one with the higher attack power wins."

"I accept, now I – What the hell do you think you're doing?! How dare you?!" Pegasus began shouting in outrage no longer looking at Yami but at Tetsuo instead. 

Turning, he watched as the robed figure glided forward and produced the Millennium Puzzle from the depths of his robes. Reaching out, he dropped the weight into Yami's palm before producing his dueling deck also, slipping into his deep pocket whilst Yami stared.

Turning to Pegasus now, Tetsuo spoke in a voice that was essentially the same as it had been in the physical realm, only this time it echoed about the blackness ominously. "You agreed to play Yugioh and as of such you have allowed him permission to his Puzzle. The King of Games does not play without it."

"Fine," Pegasus snarled out before making a quick motion in the air, his hand snapping back to him with a single card between his fingers. Turning it over to see the face, he smiled smugly before tossing the card between them, watching with mild interest as it exploded into a bright light that bulged and expanded until it had taken a recognizable shape. 

"I summon the Tri Horned Dragon."

Yami stared dumbly at the broad head of the dragon, the beast lowering its skull to stare directly into his eyes, the cold depths contrasting to the fire in his own.

//Oh fuck.//

TBC

Leave a review. Check back next week. 


	9. Loyalty

I checked this the other day and did you know that, not including this chapter, I'm going on 50 pages!!! Wow! It didn't take long either. My other ficlet looks set to finish at around 70 at the end of it and that's taken me over four months! I've also gotten over double the number of reviews for that one in less than a quarter of the time! Thanks guys!

Oh, and because of all the reviews I worked overtime this week and as of such the well won't be going dry! Yay! Lots of great suggestions coming my way so I could hammer out quite a few chapters to back-log. They will be posted regularly every Friday from now on so be happy.

I must send a huge 'thank you' out to The Great Knucklehead for giving me the film quote. He said in a review that it would be funny to hear Yami say it so, me writing him/her in my own little way, she says it. Any more suggestions?!!

Oh, someone asked in a review what a 'Tri-Horned Dragon' is and, I'm ashamed to say, I don't know either. I read it in another fanfic when I was searching for a monster that had the power level written next to it, for me convenience, and just plonked it into my work. I don't know if it exists or if whoever wrote that fic made it up so I apologize to that writer if it was your own creation. It's very obvious that I'm new in this fandom, isn't it?!

Right, I know pathetically little about the monsters and their attack levels, appearances, etc, so bear with me here. I am winging this so spare me flames stating that this monster is more powerful than that one, blah blah blah. I don't give a damn.

I chose not to do a proper Duel Monsters Game because I feel that I'm doing a good job with this ficlet and do not want to wreck it with, what would be, a rather clumsy attempt at writing out a complete duel. When writing attacks and strategies for two champions one needs to know a fair bit about said attacks and strategies. Which I don't. So I won't even try. Enjoy this chapter all the same though!

****

Chapter 9: Loyalty

"As you can see, my dragon with an attack strength of 2850 has the highest attack power save that of Exodia, and as you stated that we are only permitted to one card... Even the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon cannot beat this creature, its attack strength only at 2600," Pegasus drawled with a smirk, leaning his weight casually to one side as he looked around the huge beast's bulk to watch Yami's reaction.

The Game King watched the dragon for a few more seconds before jerking his head round to see what Tetsuo was doing, momentarily forgetting the peculiar creature's presence. A perfect brow twitched when he found that he couldn't see him. He looked down when he felt something suddenly materialize in his hand, the sensation warm and reassuring against his flesh.

Holding the face of the card up to his face between two fingers, he controlled his expression of surprise before his lips pulled into a smooth, genuine smile.

"And I summon Tet, Guardian of the Evening Star."

"What?!"

After throwing the card onto the ground at the feet of the Tri Horned Dragon, Yami watched with satisfaction as mist rather than light bubbled up from its surface. Towering up, it disintegrated into nothingness leaving Tetsuo standing proudly before the dragon. The markings pouring from the scars beneath his eyes were now moving down his skin faster than ever, and the inscriptions on his arms were beginning to move also whereas before they had been fixed.

"With an undefined attack strength, this card stands only to serve and protect the living Horus, also known as the Evening Star. As I am the only surviving pharaoh, Tet overpowers your dragon and leaves me victorious," Yami explained smoothly the memory that card invoked surging back into his mind, yet another door unlocked from his past.

"That card does not exist," Pegasus snarled, unable to accept defeat. His eyes flickered to Tetsuo who had still yet to move at his dragon, the pair currently immersed in a staring contest between the two humans.

"Ah, but it did. That is why I said that our monsters would be summoned from the Shadow Realm itself. Here," he continued, his arm making a sweeping gesture to encompass their murky surroundings. "All the monsters in all the cards that have ever existed reside. Those from Ancient Egypt, where the true Duel Monsters Games were played, are here also. With Tetsuo's presence, I was able to remember the one card that would guarantee me victory. Now I take me winnings."

In the micro-second after Yami had finished speaking, Tetsuo rose his hands against the dragon, the blood markings on his arms peeling away and encasing the beast in a giant lattice. There was a bright flash of light before the lattice evaporated into golden sparkles, drifting down through the space the Tri Horned Dragon had previously occupied.

With the power of the Millennium Puzzle once again at his disposal, Yami pulled the souls of his friends from this realm and deposited them in their physical bodies. Looking to Tetsuo, he returned the smile that was granted him before following, his stomach lurching as it always did when he made this journey.

Aching all over from where his body had collapsed to the hard floor once his spirit had fled, Yami was partially relived to find that he was back in his female form. A quick mental scan showed that her fall had not damaged the child in any way, a boy if Pegasus was correct, and she forced her uncooperative legs beneath her to stand. Balancing was a little trickier but a familiar hand on her elbow allowed her to keep herself vertical. 

"Your friends are through there," Tetsuo stated from behind, a hand pointing over her shoulder to the left of Pegasus' chair. 

Pegasus himself had risen from the piece of furniture, glaring at Yami full-force before stalking out, the fact that magic had begun to crackle around Tetsuo possibly having something to do with that.

"Thank you. What will you do now though? You said yourself that you didn't want to live in this reality by yourself, although it is a possibility. I adjusted over time," Yami said whilst walking towards the indicated door.

"You adjusted because your Light has lived here all his life and, as a part of you, allowed you to accept the changes this world has undertaken since your time. It is such a dreary and impersonal place now, so I believe that I will return to my former home. You will have access to me as before through your deck, Yugioh, and I hope that I have served you as well today as I did when you existed complete."

With that parting speech, Tetsuo simply vanished. There was no other word for it. His body disappeared and the uniform that he had been wearing dropped lifelessly to the ground. 

Yami felt something shift in her pocket and she pulled out her dueling deck, grinning when she saw Tet, the Guardian of the Evening Star as the card on the top. That would need to be shuffled in properly later; it was one of the few cards that was truly loyal, obeying no one else but her no matter what the situation.

Continuing towards the door, she saw it slide aside smoothly to reveal Joey and Honda who were lifting up Tea's prone body. The blood down her scalp was dry now but the damage was obviously severe.

"Yami! I dunno what in the hell you did back there but I'm damn glad you did it! Come on, we need to get Tea to a doctor now," Joey exclaimed, lifting the girl up in his arms and following Honda out of their cell.

Yami followed after them, catching the phone that Honda threw to her. The signal was dead inside the building, some machine blocking the signal whilst inside. Still, she pocketed it ready for use outside.

A veritable lightning bolt went through her skull as her Aibou began screaming down their mental link, obviously making use of the puzzle's replacement about her neck. She stumbled slightly under the force and sheer emotion he was sending, a hand raising to her temple as she sent quieting waves down the link so that she could continue to follow the boys out.

//What the heck happened? Yami, I was so worried! Are you alright? Is the baby okay? Tea's hurt and she needs to see a doctor so if Pegasus is around you need to get him to-//

//Aibou! Hush! Everyone is fine aside from Tea whom Joey is carrying outside now. I have no idea where we are so we'll need Seto's car sent for us when we get outside. I just thrashed Pegasus' ass so he doesn't need to worry about any more negotiations, okay?//

//Oh. Good. We'll see you at the hospital once Tea's there then. While I'm here, the decorator came yesterday when you were out. Do you want the nursery blue or pink?//

****

YVO

//Life has finally settled down and I couldn't be happier. Tea was diagnosed with a concussion and had to stay in overnight but she was fine a week later and is back keeping Yugi company in the shop as if nothing happened.

Pegasus has wisely stayed quiet now or 'maintaining a low profile' as Joey so accurately put it. He is well aware that I can issue a Game Penalty if he bothers Seto again and I don't think he is mentally unstable enough to incur my wrath, particularly now that I'm nearly full term. 

Seto joked that I should have stared at me feet whilst battling Pegasus as I wouldn't see them again for a while, which, unfortunately, he was entirely correct about. I think I received a 'get out of jail free' card for my outburst against him in the shop because he was so worried which I am truly relieved about. I apologized to both though, which was worth me swallowing my pride for as the reactions were interesting. Joey blushed for some reason, after staring at me wide-eyed as if it took a moment to register that I had apologized to him. I'll admit that I don't confess to mistakes often, which was probably why he was so shocked.

Seto just nodded his head and then apologized to me before asking where I'd learned such a strong right-hook. Cue a long conversation about the more ancient art-forms of combat and we agreed to have some more 'physical' duels once I was in suitable condition. It's easy to guess how my imagination twisted that...

The nursery is finished now and, having not been a child for a very long time and as of such having no idea what would be pleasant for a baby in terms of toys, I left that to Yugi. Seto had a moment of insanity and gave him his credit card for the day. I'm surprised it didn't melt, particularly since Mai went with him.

It's a little bit bear-mad in there now but I find it sweet. It's a personal touch from the other side of me and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. However the largest bear which consumes the whole corner in which it sits scares me a little. I think I might sew its mouth shut or make its eyes bigger...//

****

Seto had become a regular occupant at the Game Shop now, freely moving into the living quarters without asking as he had done for the last few months. He always checked in every day now, usually in the afternoon during the lunch-break that he actually took now. Before he often used to forget to eat, only stopping when his stomach was active enough to distract him from work. Of course his excursions from the office had a price and that was he was working later. It worked out perfectly now though as they had just finished the term and he had a good many weeks school-free ahead of him meaning that he could afford to lie in bed a little longer in the mornings to make up from the sleep lost the night before.

Today when he strolled into the living room he saw the woman bearing his son sitting comfortably amongst a swathe of pillows, Yugi sat opposite her in the arm-chair that he had obviously pulled there.

They had not yet noticed his entry as they continued their game without pausing, Yugi taking another piece of pop-corm from the deep bowl in his lap and throwing it at Yami. Tracking the morsel through the air with sharp eyes, Yami expertly moved her head accordingly and caught it in her mouth, chewing once before swallowing. She looked back to Yugi expectantly as his hand dived back into the bowl.

"Well I can see you've both have a productive day," Seto laughed, readjusting the box under his arm slightly and placing a hand on the crown of Yami's head.

"Are you kidding?! Do you have any idea how long it took us to perfect that?!" Yugi squealed indignantly with wide eyes, subtly ignoring the light flush that had crept up into his Dark's cheeks as Seto buried his fingers in her hair.

"With Yami's magnetic attraction to food I'm sure it wasn't too hard," the elder Kaiba brother grinned, curling his fingers into her thick hair subconsciously. "Oh, I bought something today. Would you like to see it?" he asked as the thought suddenly occurred to him.

At their affirmative nods, he handed Yami the long, thin box under his arm, resting his weight against his folded arms on the back of the couch as he watched her over her shoulder.

Testing its light weight in her hands curiously, Yami carefully took off the lid and began searching through the ridiculous number of layers of purple tissue paper, finally finding the prize near the bottom.

Lifting the tiny jump-suit out of the tissue she ran her thumbs over the material, finding that it was so soft that it could barely be felt at all. A rich blue in colour, it had a small, silver 'K' embroided onto the left breast and was lined with a soft silver material around the collar. 

She stared at it silently for a few seconds before folding it neatly and placing it bakc in the box, setting it at her side before taking a deep breath. That obviously didn't work, she murmured an 'excuse me' before hurrying into the kitchen.

Seto and Yugi exchanged confused and quite concerned glances before the former followed, leaving Yugi to pick up the piece of clothing and examine it himself. He figured it would be better to let those two sort whatever had happened out themselves.

When Seto entered the kitchen he found Yami with her back to him holding a tea towel to her eyes. Speaking her name, he jumped slightly when she faced him lowering the towel. Her eyes were red and her cheeks damp and to him it was for absolutely no reason.

Confronted with a crying woman, Seto did the only thing that he could. He panicked. 

"What's wrong? Don't you like it? What..." he trailed off still holding her shoulders, the position adopted during the course of those few questions. He was at a loss. What the hell was he supposed to do?! How did he fix this?!

"No, it's perfect! It's just..."

"What? It's just what?"

"Small," she wailed before breaking into a fresh torrent of tears. 

Utterly dumbfounded now, Seto stared down bewildered at the head that had buried itself into his chest, her fingers curling into the sleeves of his jacket. Bringing his hands up slightly awkwardly, he placed them on her back and started moving them in slow soothing circles. "Erm, it was supposed to be," he stated, not knowing how she would react to that and admittedly afraid to find out.

Cringing when he heard her sobs intensify, his jacket being thoroughly soaked now, he resorted to plan B when simple reasoning failed to pan out. "Yugi! Help!" 

The younger boy practically skidded into the room, his eyes bouncing between the two figures before he placed a hand up on her shoulder. "Yami? What's wrong?"

She broke away from Seto then, taking a step back and watching him with severely upset, watery eyes. "It's small!"

Yugi nodded slightly whilst wondering where the hell this 'turn' was going. Yami's emotions were unpredictable to say the least. An example was when he showed her a new teddy-bear that he had got for the nursery. Yami had grinned before breaking down. Working through various routes he had found out that it was because the bear had been so cute with light colour fur that it had reminded her of him, and then of how lucky she was to have him. Then she had moved onto how wonderful it was that there was going to be three of them in a few weeks, and then that Seto was showing signs of joining the fold... This outburst proved to be just as spectacular.

"Yes, it's small, because Kiroko will be small. Hence he will fit into it," Yugi reasoned hoping that he was at least making some progress with the hysterical woman.

"You're small too," she replied sadly, a curled hand coming up now to rub at her tears. Seto was watching the exchange with deep confusion, sincerely glad that he was at the office so much so as to avoid all of these volatile emotional outbursts. Part of him was saddened too though; if he had been around more in the pervious months then he would have know what to do to help.

Yugi narrowed his eyes at her in consideration before asking seriously, "You don't know why you're upset, do you?"

"No! It's bloody ridiculous! My front's done in, my back's done in, my insides are a wreck and I haven't seen my feet for weeks but I hear they're fat too so I think I have the right to be upset! Stupid pregnancy's destroying my brain cells and I can't believe I just said that!"

Yami was breathing hard now looking more pissed off than upset now. Pissed off Yami Seto could deal with so he was relived that fresh tears weren't falling. Mainly it was because he had angered her so much in the past and was therefor used to seeing her on the verge of hammering his head through a solid object. Upset Yami on the other hand he was utterly screwed with.

"Feel better?" Seto asked lightly knowing that shouting was probably what she needed to do in such a state.

Yami paused for a second in thought before straightening and smiling. The tears looked out of place now. "Yeah I do," she said with a firm nod.

Seto turned wide eyes to Yugi who simply shrugged. "She does that. Joey swears she's possessed. He says he's just waiting for her to turn her head 360° "

"Only so he can sell the video," Yami shot back, her arms crossing casually. "Are you hungry Seto?"

"A little, why? You cannot seriously be hungry again, not after that breakfast I saw you down this morning. I think you're rivaling Joey for the name of head termite."

Yami scowled at him before slapping his shoulder. "Sit down, be quiet and stop endangering your very existence."

"Yes ma'am." 

"Now what did I just say?"

TBC

Yup, I have rather abruptly left the 'drama/mystery' realm and gone straight back to 'humor'. Personally writing the latter is easier. My whole Buffy-Fandom story is entirely 'drama/mystery/horror' and I'm struggling to finish it. I haven updated for months, literally, and now that I'm doing this fic it doesn't look to be getting finished any time soon either. Not that I particularly care; you lovely people review me more and I'm having *way* more fun writing this! 

If you're confused at that last bit of the fic don't be as I have had a very similar conversation with a pregnant women to that. It was a very tricky situation that I thought would be quite entertaining if Seto was on the receiving end of it.

The newest arrival is going to make its appearance soon! Yay! Of course, it's going to be a rather, 'eventful' journey to get to that event. It always is in the world of Yugioh fanfics though, isn't it?! Hope I've made it creative enough to be enjoyable.


	10. Oops

I made it! I actually got to chapter ten!!! And I definitely wouldn't have if it weren't for all the fantastic reviews because I would have just given this an abrupt ending simply from giving up way back. Be pleased with yourselves as you have helped me loads! 

Right, this chapter ended up being so long that I'm posting it individually and as I'm not writing actively at this moment you'll need to wait a week for part 2 so you get constant drips of this stuff rather than alternating between gallons and a dry well. This is me planning ahead by he way so sorry for being evil. Review and make me happy though so I can write more through encouragement!

Speaking of help, I must thank Adrianna and Jerri for their input, and then thank Kari and Princess Zelda for reminding me to thank them! I'm pretty useless in that field but thanks guys! 

I got a request from AnimeFly so I'm bringing in Ryou and Bakura. I know only a little about these characters, hence their lack of appearance in previous chapters, but I'll try my best. Just don't expect anything too amazing! Bakura is the insane spirit and Ryou is the polite one here. I find Bakura amusing because of his temperament so he should make more appearances in upcoming chapters or in the other story I'm planning to write after I've finished this one. Excuse any OOC-ness in either. I am ignorant.

On a side note, I'm starting to find it really hard to come up with these one-word titles. I have no idea why I'm sharing that as I'm supposed to be maintaining this visage of a high and mighty authoress who knows exactly what she's doing at all times... Sod it; I'm lying to myself. And I'm rambling. Again. Sorry!

Erm, there is a fair bit of swearing in this chapter so be warned. Well, it's me writing for Yami isn't it so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise to read that?

****

Chapter 10: Oops

YVO

//Month nine and I'm quite surprised that I'm still alive. I'm pretty much uncomfortable all the time now and my moods are very, very unpredictable. Honda's increased the bulk of his strawberry runs accordingly and Joey is given me my space all the time. That being ten feet up from six. It rockets to thirty when I yell at him, which is decidedly less now as I promised to be nice.

I got fed up with their presence today as it was particularly hot and told Yugi to take them all and go to the beach. Yugi was extremely reluctant to leave me on my own all day but gave in when I threatened to tie him up and get Seto to drag him there tied to the bumper of his car. I just wanted some peace and quiet. It's a wonder what ten hours of sleep can do for your mood.

I was pleased that they all went out together for the day because when Yugi returned that evening they were all bubbling with excitement, interrupting each other as they relayed the details of the day. I understood very little of it all but apparently Joey had gotten dragged out by the current, Honda having to go out and save him. 

Ryou turned up with Bakura too, which was good to hear as Yugi hasn't seen them in a long time. He said that it was particularly funny when Bakura threw a hissy fit because Ryou 'accidentally' dropped his ice-cream into his hair. Mai took a photo so I'm happy. 

Naturally they were both surprised when Yugi told them what happening, particularly the reason to why I've gained a scary amount of weight. Well, Ryou was surprised. Tea said that Bakura started laughing maniacally to the extent that he was in tears in the sand. That's one of the reasons I'm glad I didn't go; I'm not sure my body could take the strain of me strangling the tomb-raider.

It's a shame that Ryou lives so far away from the rest of us as he is quite good company. He was reported to seem a little upset that he had been left out of the loop for so long when something as big, literally, as this was happening. He's promised to come by more often now that he's back from that trip he took with his family, not that I mind. I just hate the fact that Bakura is going to be tagging along whenever he comes.

Yugi went to bed a few hours ago, the rest of the happy group leaving just before then, but I'm staying up. Strange twinges are starting to pick up in my abdomen and they're keeping me awake, which, as you can tell, I'm not entirely pleased about. I'll try to sleep again in a little while but I doubt I'm going to get anywhere. Stupid pregnancy.//

****

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Yugi asked quietly, padding lightly over the tiled floor and dropping into a chair tiredly next to his Dark.

Yami ruffled his hair slightly, which didn't actually make a huge difference, before answering. "Cramps. Woke me up and now I can't sleep. Besides it's not that late, but you should be in a bed, especially after today."

Yugi grinned as the memories surfaced in his mind. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Why don't you have a warm drink and try to go back to sleep?"

"I tried that but it didn't work. In fact I think it's getting worse so I'll stay up a while longer and see if it subsides. If it doesn't I'll call the surgery and see what they recommend."

Nodding in approval at the admittedly wise course of action Yami intended to take, Yugi yawned broadly before standing up again, fully intending to go back to bed and recover from such a busy day. Pausing behind her chair, he lowered his head over her shoulder before asking hesitantly, "Can I..?"

Yami smiled in the dim light, turning her head to look at her Aibou directly in the eye. "You're always welcome Little Light, although I do not see how you can derive so much pleasure from simply feeling his movements."

"Well you're used to it. It's a bit of a novelty to the rest of us. Besides, it's pretty cool to feel something alive in you," Yugi replied with a grin, kneeling down beside the chair and planting a hand on the rather large expanse of her stomach.

He frowned when he felt something clench beneath his hands, muscle twitching and pulling slightly before relaxing entirely. Looking up to Yami in confusion, she merely shrugged and said, "Cramps" as if it were self-explanatory.

Frowning and staring at his hand on her stomach, Yugi's eyes grew wide as realization dawned, apparently far faster than it was going to on Yami. "Yami you idiot-"

"That was uncalled for," she huffed interrupting him.

"Those aren't cramps! Those are bloody contractions!"

She blinked at him owlishly before nodding with a small 'oh'. "I should call Seto shouldn't I?"

"I think that would be a good idea. How far apart are they? We can tell if we need an ambulance or if we can wait for Seto's car then," Yugi explained feeling a little unsettled at how quiet and unmoving Yami was being. Obviously she was rapidly going into some kind of shock, which was a bad thing.

"Uh, about half an hour, give or take. Call Seto and he can drive us. I'm just going to sit here and, yeah, sitting here sounds fine."

Nodding with a little worry in his eyes, Yugi left her at the table to make the phone call. After trying to rouse Seto to a conscious state he managed to tell him what was going on only for him to go deathly silent over the phone. Calling his name a few times he was met with a quiet "I'll be right over" before the line went dead.

Sincerely hoping that this wasn't some personality-defect epidemic, Yugi returned to Yami who saw still sat at the table. "Seto's coming over now. Shall I call the others and let them know what's going on?"

"Yeah, it could be a while. Company would be good," Yami replied her voice taking on a strangely higher pitch as the realization of what was happening actually began to sink in. //Oh Ra. I'm in labor. I'm going to wake up soon and this is not going to be happening. Shit. I hate hospitals.//

****

Due to the fact that she would likely be getting into a hospital gown pretty soon Yami hadn't bothered to change. The actuality that shorts and a long t-shirt wasn't going to keep her warm in the middle of the night had led to her being sandwiched between Yugi and Seto in his car for the journey just to share body heat.

Seto had obviously scrambled into clothes as his shirt only had two buttons done up and both of his shoes were undone, and minus socks, which she found quite amusing. Seeing the oh-so-aloof Seto Kaiba so disorganized and flustered was quite entertaining as well as distracting for her. Yugi was wide awake now having gotten into some clothes whilst waiting for the car to arrive but his hair was still an unruly mess and dark circles were beginning to form under his eyes, something which Yami was beginning to feel an uncomfortable level of guilt over.

Unable to take the silence any more and genuinely concerned over Yami, Seto tightened the arm he had around her. "Does it hurt much?"

Yami shook her head slightly. "No, not really. I didn't actually know what they were at first so I-oh hell that does hurt though,' she tapered off in a low voice, teeth clenching and her body curling slightly against the sensation.

Yugi took one of her hands whilst Seto took the other, both watching her face intently with concern as they waited for it to pass. It only lasted a few seconds before she fell back against the seat exhaling the breath she had been holding. 

"Thanks. Urgh, this is just going to get worse isn't it?" she mumbled bringing a hand up over her face before running it through her hair, slightly miffed to feel that sweat was already forming on her skin.

"Yes, but then you'll have a little baby in your arms and it'll all be worth it," Yugi assured. He was feeling uncomfortable with his Yami being in pain and being entirely powerless to do anything about it. Judging from the look on Seto's face he felt the same way.

Yami nodded with a warm smile deciding that she was happier now that Yugi had said that. She frowned though when she felt another sensation that was not entirely new to her, blushing when she felt a dampness spread down her thighs. Offering Seto a small smile and an embarrassed apology, she was immensely relived when he told he not to worry about it.

Glancing down himself, Yugi clapped a hand to his forehead. "Yami, your water just broke. I'd get ready for those contractions of yours to start to feel a whole lot worse." 

****

Much to Yami's dismay Yugi had been correct and she was practically screaming when they had gotten into the hospital and into one of the delivery rooms. Yugi had wisely pegged it with the excuse that he would wait for the others and guide them to the waiting room. In fact he was scared by the things that Yami had begun hissing, things that, although obviously in ancient Egyptian, sounded like curses and some of the finer profanity in existence at the time.

"If I survive this, I'm going to make sure that you can't do this to any woman ever again," she snarled at him whilst making a damn-good attempt to break his hand, his fingers turning white as she squeezed.

Seto seemed unconcerned by the threats, more concerned by the levels of pain that the straining form was radiating. Yami noticed his unalarmed state when she had caught her breath, puzzling over how he could actually still be in the same room as her with everything she had been saying. 

"Why are you so calm? I'm threatening your life and masculinity," she asked in confusion, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

He just shrugged, bring up his free, still working hand to wipe some of her matted fringe from her brow. "I've hear that most women threaten their husbands during birth."

//Huh?//

"I'm sorry, could you just say that again?" Yami asked bewildered turning wide, shocked eyes up to his face. He seemed to blush and ducked his head so that she wouldn't see.

"That just came out wrong."

"Right."

They were prevented from further conversation when the doctor entered the room, the young man closing the door behind him and consulting his clipboard before giving them both a warm smile. Yami wanted to rip that right off.

"Well things seem to be moving along well," he said brightly before moving to the bottom of the bed, discarding the clipboard to the floor as he crouched down. "Let's see how far along you are."

Yami's eyes widened as she cottoned on to what he meant, particularly when he put a hand onto her knee when she failed to comply. Planting a foot on his collar-bone, she met his confused look with a hard glare. "Don't even try. I will harm you."

Sensing that Yami was going to continue to be a teensy bit uncooperative and unreasonable, Seto placed a hand on her shoulder and leant down to her ear. "It's actually required that he does that. Just ignore him and let him do his job."

Nodding slightly, Yami leant back and stared hard at the ceiling until the doctor stood again, jotting something down on his clipboard. "Well, your baby is obviously very eager to make it's appearance in the world; this might be one of the quickest births I've seen in my career."

"And how many have you timed then?" Seto snapped. He was feeling a little uncomfortable about the fact that the doctor delivering his son appeared only a few years older than himself. And he was a little stressed at the moment, which was quite understandable due to the constant death-grip Yami had on his hand.

"Sixty three, this one will be sixty four, so I'm well qualified. I'll be back in a few minutes and then you can start pushing," he assured already heading towards the door. 

"Oh joy."

There was the confusing sound of shouts and yells coming from outside the room before something very, very bad happened. First, Joey slammed open the door as he bolted into the room shouting, "What'd I miss?"

Yami watched with a sense of doom as the door thwacked into the doctor's back sending him flying against the wall. His head connected solidly with the unyielding surface and with a rather dramatic 'thunk', he was out cold.

"Joey," she hissed in a warning sound, crimson eyes burning on his form. The teen had stopped short of the bed when he saw the doctor fall unconscious and was currently trying to figure out how many seconds he had to start running before Yami made a grab for his throat.

Pissed off to the very end of the scale now, Yami had launched herself at him without thinking, but instead of pummeling him into dust like she had intended, she screamed in pain and clutched the front of his jacket as another wave of agony tore through her.

Clutching her shoulders so as to keep her standing, Seto holding her waist from behind, Joey walked her back to the hospital bed and helped the father to lay her back down. When she had the sheet up to her waist again, he began moving back from his position of leaning over her. However, the hand that curled around his throat halted his progress. 

Sweat beading on her features, Yami brought his face extremely close to hers and growled out, "When I can walk again, you and I are gonna sort this problem of yours out."

Eyes wide at the threat, Joey managed to pry her fingers off of his throat as she sunk down into another contraction, inadvertently cutting off his air supply. The second he took in a breath the lights flickered and abruptly died, plunging the room into total blackness. Moving to the window, Joey saw that a large area around the hospital had turned dark too.

"Must have been some kind of power-surge. It's taken out the whole block," he announced before leaving to hunt down another doctor and tell the others what he had just done to necessitate a new one.

"This is. Fan-fucking-tastic," she panted to herself in the dark. 

//He's back on my list//

TBC

Joey has always been my most pleasurable tool for causing destruction and mayhem. Hot. Can't be asked to type. Luckily Parts 11-End are done so I don't have to bother. Part 11 next week. Don't hate me. Review.


	11. Resolve

Finishing this chapter was hard enough. I don't have the energy to write much here unlike before. 

Because of all the fantastic reviews I chose to post today as well as on Friday. Nice, aren't I?! Review me a plenty and I will be very happy. Another update on Friday.

Oh, I do make use of Bakura's deliciously evil ways to play head-games so all you Bakura lovers out there don't hate me if you prefer him being non-git-ish. I like the evil one. Long chapter so appreciate it.

****

Chapter 11: Resolve

"Shouldn't there be emergency lighting?" Seto questioned starting to sound worried. He moved through the darkness back to Yami, standing at her shoulder and re-taking her hand reassuringly.

"I think that that's only in the emergency sections. You might need to set fire to something to see if we're going to see again. Another one; hang on."

Squeezing her hand in return this time, Seto waited to feel her trembling cease before moving reluctantly to the door and glancing up and down the corridor. Everything was pitch-black, evident that emergency lighting didn't actually exist in this section. Older hospitals never had actually planned ahead during their construction. 

Hearing running footsteps, he turned his head to the sound and hissed when he saw that it wasn't a collection of medical staff, like he'd hoped, but the entire group. Obviously they were concerned as to what was going on, moreso now that Joey had told them that he'd knocked out the doctor and that the power was out.

Filing inside ignoring the barrage of questions, Joey took out a box of matches, lit one and dropped it into the waste-paper basket. Now with at least a dim, flickering light in the room they could see each other. Mai and Tea were hovering nervously near the doorway with Honda just behind them, Joey standing beside the fire in the bin. Seto was on one side of Yami with Yugi on the other, both with a hand on either her shoulder or encased in one of hers.

"Um, Ryou is on his way here now. He says that he won't let Bakura come near to cause any problems," Yugi stated trying to overshadow the concern in his voice with factual information. Failing miserably.

"Good, because I'm taking just about what I can handle now. Oh Ra, here comes another one. Any sign of a doctor?" Yami hissed out, squinting in the dim light at the trio stood in the doorway.

Honda turned and gave the dark hallway a quick glance, confirming Seto's earlier assessment that they were on their own. "It's deserted. All the staff must be dealing with emergency patients and stuff."

//Like this isn't an emergency! I'm getting ripped in two here!//

"Alright, I'll go look around for someone to help," Joey assured already moving to door. He stopped in his tracks at Yami's pained shout, her entire body curling into itself this time.

"Damnit! Too late now. He's coming and I can't exactly hold him in," she muttered through clenched teeth, seriously wishing that she had accepted that injection thing earlier to take the edge off the pain. There was something about sticking a needle into her spine that bothered her enough to refuse it though.

"Alright," Seto said trying to take control. This was ridiculous! He could negotiate multi-million deals without ruffling a hair, face down a duelist four times his size and manage accounts whilst looking after Mokuba alone, but he could not do anything about a woman giving birth. "Does anyone know what to do? Has anybody taken a course or something?"

Tea rose a shaky hand and Yugi lifted his own slightly. "Tea and I got a few lessons about it after school but I don't really remember too much about it," he explained sheepishly.

"I've been brushing up over the last month or so because they re-opened the course so I have an idea of how to handle it," Tea spoke up a little more confidently.

Nodding in genuine appreciation at the pair, he lowered his face over Yami's and waited for her eyes to come back into focus before speaking. "Who would you feel more comfortable to have do this?" he asked with a softness that even surprised him.

//Do I actually look like I'm in a position to be picky?//

Tipping her head to stare up with crimson orbs at the more startling shade of purple in her Aibou's eyes, she gave the request relatively unspoken. "If it doesn't bother you," she said quietly, knowing that likely Yugi would be a bit squeamish but seriously preferring to have someone who was essentially herself helping her.

"Alright, Tea you help Yugi. Honda, Mai, go find some extra towels. They should be in here somewhere. Joey, I'd feed that fire so it doesn't die on us," he ordered, the others seemingly grateful to be given something to do.

Once those tasks had been accomplished, Seto took charge entirely and practically threw them out of the room, stating that Ryou was probably wandering around the hospital completely lost by now. It was too crowded in there and they needed the space to move. Now it was just the four of them and Yami didn't seem to be faring well.

"Yami are you pushing like I told you?" Tea asked from the bottom of the bed, looking up with concern to her.

"Yes. It' just too. Damn. Hard."

"Are you sure there isn't a problem?" Seto asked worry now extremely evident in his voice. The progression to this stage had been extremely quick but now the final part seemed to be taking forever.

"I don't know! I'm not a qualified midwife or anything," Tea replied in frustration. Setto was not helping right now and she was very close to telling him to leave but she knew what effect that would have on Yami so she chose to remain silent.

"Whoa! Tea, is there supposed to be blood?" Yugi asked in a quieter voice, Yami's keen hearing picking up on it right away.

//Aibou, you're scaring me.//

//I'm sorry Yami but this is all happening really fast.//

"A little is normal. Okay, you're just about crowning now so it should get easier in a bit," she assured, not glancing up this time as she knew that she needed to remain focussed.

Feeling immensely relieved at the prospect of the constant agony being over soon, Yami grit her teeth and dealt with the pain silently as her muscles clenched with little warning once again. A quiet curse from Tea had her worried again though; Tea rarely swore so colorfully. 

//Aibou, what's happening?//

//Don't get scared, Yami.//

//Tell me why I might.//

"It's okay Yami, you're just breaching," Tea informed them, the information doing little to ease her mind. She looked up at Seto questioningly, her hand still clamped around his.

"He's upside down. It's alright it'll just be a bit harder."

//Great.//

//Stay calm Yami, you're doing beautifully.//

//I've got an entirely different perspective from here, Aibou. I suddenly love my mother a whole lot though.//

"Okay he's just about through. One more should do it," Tea announced, already pulling a towel closer to her with her single free hand.

Yami was sat up completely now, absently surprised that she wasn't breaking Seto's hand and absently surprised that she wasn't dead either. That last contraction hurt ten times more than the others but the wailing that started up a few seconds later shoved all that to the back of her mind instantly.

The parents could only stare dumbfounded at the bloody, squirming, noisy little thing that Yugi lifted up, wrapping it in a fluffy white towel with an absurd amount of care. Handing it to Seto, the shorter teen watched with unbridled glee as he watched him smile genuinely at the little life, all but cooing at it.

Yami watched the pair before frowning, another contraction rippling through her abdomen. "Tea? Why is that still happening? And do not tell me there's another baby in there."

Tea shook her head, averting her eyes from Seto briefly. "It's just the afterbirth. It shouldn't hurt anywhere near as much."

Nodding and seemingly satisfied, Yami looked up above her shoulder again and lifted her hands when Seto lowered the squirming bundle down to her. Marveling at the perfection there, she pulled back the towel and arched a slender brow in surprise. "He's a she," she stated flatly, mildly amused at this turn out.

Yugi frowned slightly. "That means Pegasus-"

"Is a lying bastard, yes I know," Yami replied with mirth, albeit tiredly.

"Well then, hello Kiara and welcome to the world," Tea said with a bright smile as she stood and came round to stand at Yami's shoulder, Seto and Yugi opposite her also beaming.

With chocolate brown hair and a curled golden fringe, Kiara was the prefect blend of her parents. The biggest surprise were her eyes; all baby's eyes were blue at birth, but Kiara's were a lively shade of violet, an exact duplicate of Yugi's. Seto believed that it was probably a throwback over the generations, Yami being Yugi's ancestor. Or a big universal joke.

"Yes, and I can assure you now that your life is going to be one of the most interesting experiences anyone will ever face," Yami murmured, already starting to feel exhaustion kicking in. When was the last time she'd slept?

"I'll take her. You should rest," Seto said already relieving Yami of his daughter's weight as he saw her eyelids dip dangerously. "And you can come with me and meet everyone."

Yami crinkled her nose at the display of affection, watching him walk towards the door holding the squirming bundle carefully. Pausing at the door, he seemed to pause in a moment of indecision before turning to face Tea and Yugi. 

"Thank you, for what you've done," he said genuinely before stepping out entirely.

There was silence in the room until Yami barked a laugh, the pair turning to look at her fearing that something had gone in her head through all of that pain. "That just goes to show that even the best of us can eat our words," she explained simply.

"Yugi, why don't you go out and see the others whilst I help Yami," Tea suggested when the laughter had died down.

"Alright, I'll see you later Yami. If you need anything just call," he said in all seriousness. In Yami's eyes it was creepy when he was like that; she was so used to seeing him acting like a child. Being serious was her job. 

"I'll be sure to do that. Just do me a favor and make sure Joey doesn't drop her. Or if Bakura's there he doesn't touch her at all."

*****

"Hey, shouldn't you be handing out cigars now?" Honda asked, shifting the light weight in his arms marginally as he looked up at Seto who was watching him like a hawk. The intensity in those eyes was actually quite scary.

The power had return a few minutes ago, the doctors slowly spreading to the other parts of the hospital as they left the emergency sections where they had been needed to keep the patients alive. Yami's doctor had yet to regain consciousness, something that Joey was still squirming uncomfortably about, but he had amended himself in finding a nurse the second the lights were back. Yami was asleep now, everyone in the waiting room cooing over the newest addition to the group.

"Well, due to the fact that none of you smoke I decided against that," Seto replied evenly.

"We could have sold them," Bakura grumbled from where Ryou had sat him, the only instruction he had been given being not to move from that chair. Well, he followed it for a whole ten minutes so he could start ignoring his Light half about now.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mai asked, a firm hand coming to his arm, one that was abruptly wrenched away at the contact.

He turned shadowed eyes onto her, glaring at her with a sneer. "I'm going to make sure the little pharaoh is still in one piece. Having that come out of someone can have its effects," he snarled at her with a motion to Kiara before stalking off down the corridor.

Yugi and Seto exchanged looks before they both began to follow only stopping when Ryou shouted out to them. "He won't do anything. I promise," he said softly, large brown eyes watching them certainly.

Seto's eyes turned into slits at him, not quite sure what to make of that. "And how can you be so sure? He isn't exactly the most trust-worthy creature, is he?"

Ryou barely faltered under that piercing stare. "I just know. Yami-Yugi's safe."

Seto remained unconvinced but Yugi had faith in the platinum haired boy. "Alright, but I'll wake her up so she knows he's coming."

Dipping into their link, Yugi was mildly surprised to find that Yami was already awake. Furthermore, she reached out to him before he could even form a sentence. 

//Aibou, what the hell is Bakura doing here?//

//He just wanted to see you. Is he doing anything?//

//I don't know yet. I can just sense him, my eyes are still closed. I want to see what he does.//

//Alright, just be careful.//

//Always. Well, nearly always anyway.//

****

Bakura regarded the dozing woman silently in the dim light, sharp eyes picking up every stirring and motion that she made in sleep. Seeing her eyelids twitch he then knew for a fact that she was awake, obviously monitoring his movements mentally.

Striding to the side of the bed, he knelt down beside her ear and hissed in a low voice, "I know you're awake, little pharaoh."

Sighing mentally at the nickname she knew would stick forever, she snapped open crimson eyes to stare into his freezing blue ones. "Why did you come?"

Bakura tipped his head to the side slightly, his bangs shifting to the side as a result of the movement, drifting hypnotically over his eyes before settling. It seemed as if he wasn't quite sure why he had felt compelled to come in here himself. "Curiosity. I find it intriguing that you tolerated such a thing in your body for so long. My pathetic host and myself only found out yesterday so I wanted to see if to confirm it for myself as soon as possible."

"Well, now you know. And I found the experience most wondrous, aside from the last part, so you have no further need to be curious about my levels of tolerance," she replied firmly, eyes narrowing minutely to relay a hidden point in the later part of that speech.

The Tomb Raider seemed to get the hidden message and smiled cruelly. "What I do is of no concern of yours." 

"Ryou isn't deserving of something like you," Yami muttered darkly.

Bakura seemed quite amused by that. "I tend to agree. Let us discuss being deserving, shall we? I'm also quite fascinated by this relationship that you and Kaiba are forming." 

"Don't even start on that topic. That's our business and I don't want your opinion."

He continued as if he hadn't heard her. "In my opinion he had only stood by you because you are the mother of his child. I have a mild respect for his loyalty to others, mostly for that pipsqueak of a brother, and I believe that he has only remained with you because of loyalty to that child of his."

Leaning close to her face again now, he continued in smooth tones. "What makes you think that he won't take her from you? He could raise her so much better than you, being financially secure and all. He is not a creature of the dark either; he isn't evil. Maybe she would be safer with him, hmm?"

Yami knew that he was just trying to unsettle her, scare her. She knew what he was saying wasn't true but his manipulative words had already planted a seed of doubt. Not wanting to hear anything else that this atrocity had to say, she curled a hand above the sheets ready to strike him if need be. "Get out."

Expecting that and satisfied with what he'd accomplished, Bakura smirked slightly before raising to his full height, stalking back out of the room and closing the door behind him. He paused outside to allow himself a smile, one which he forced down so that it wouldn't been seen when he returned to the group of mortals he so thoroughly despised. At least that had been enjoyable.

****

Scrubbing a hand through her drying hair, Yami clenched her eyes shut against the haunting words that kept circling her head. //What if he's right? What will I do? No, he's a manipulative bastard who speaks nothing but lies and hurt. I shouldn't listed to anything he says. But still, there was a logic in his words./

Lifting the puzzle that was hanging about her neck slightly, she regarded it with contemplative eyes. //How dark am I? I tried to kill Seto once, Yugi barely stopping me. I scared him that time, I can still remember, but he trusts me now. I've changed. I'm not as cold as I was. But have I changed enough? Damnit Bakura!//

The door opened again, a strip of light casting over her face which she raised a hand against. Seto's form broke the beam until he shut the door again, stepping towards her with Kiara back in his arms. Sitting on the edge of the bed at her hip, he hand the now sleeping child to her, folding his hands in his lap as he watched them.

"What did Bakura have to say? I'd quite like an excuse to hit him."

Yami snorted a laugh before waving a single hand vaguely, not quite sure what to tell him. He rose a perfect brow at the motion, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"That bad? Don't worry about it; everything he says is to hurt or confuse. I wouldn't listen to him," he assured, reaching out a large hand and running his fingers along the crop of dark hair on Kiara's head.

Still staring at the child sleeping soundly in the crook of her arm, Yami voice her concerns in a voice that was very unlike her usual strong tones. "Are you going to take her away from me?"

His eyes widened at that, genuine shock registering on his face before anger set in. "Why in the hell would I do that? I can't believe you'd even think that. Is that the idea that Bakura stuck in your head? Right, that's an excellent excuse for me to tear his head off," he growled before standing and heading towards the door.

The rational part of his mind kicked in when he reached it though, his hand still on the cool handle as he turned his head to look at her. Yami remained still although silent, silvery tears were leaking down her cheeks. Him getting angry wasn't going to be helping that.

Trying to quell the urge to run out and grind the tomb raider into a fine powder, Seto returned to the bed and placed an arm around her shoulders, noting that her pride was still intact because she instantly brought a hand up to wipe away evidence of her misery. "Why do you think that?" he asked as calmly as he could manage.

"I don't think I deserve her. I'm evil, I tried to kill you before, she isn't -"

"Like hell you don't deserve her," Seto interrupted sharply not wanting her to continue this senseless, self-loathing crap. "You're not evil; you are what you chose to be. You chose to be a guardian and I've seen how well you look after Yugi. You love him just as much as you'll love Kiara and that makes you deserving. Yami, people have children who most certainly don't deserve them, and hundreds who do deserve them can't. I know more than most what an undeserving parent can do to a child and I have absolute faith in you that you will protect her from harm. Now stop thinking all that crap before I'm forced to hit you."

Yami turned damp but amused eyes up to him, relief evident on her face. "Just you try; I'd kick you to the Great Temples and back. Besides you wouldn't hit me. Not whilst I'm a girl anyway."

Seto smiled at that, pleased that they were falling into the old routine. Nuzzling his head into her hair, he moved his other hand to her arm, sitting almost completely behind her now. "Well you just wait. When you're up for it I'll give you exactly what you deserve."

"I bet you will."

TBC

(Blinks. Re-checks and blinks again.) Wow. This fic is nearly 70 pages long now. That's the longest fiction I have to my name. Scary. And another 'wow' goes to my reviews. I think I'm going to stick around in this fandom for a while longer!

Yaio next chapter and it's pretty much fluff and comedy as it's too hot right now to write anything serious. 

Hope you've enjoyed all of this so far. Leave me a review and let me know.


	12. Fray

You're probably wondering what the hell is happening with all these seemingly random updates. It's just that because my life is being *extremely* unpredictable I am finding myself unable to update on Fridays on a regular basis as I wanted. So, me being the extremely kind and generous person that I am, I give you two chapters as an apology when I cannot update regularly as you expect. That and I read the reviews, checked chapter 11 and saw that it *was* too damn serious. So, I give you fluff and yaio as an apology!

Well, I *had* intended to have a short chapter as No 12 during in which Yami 'switches' back to being male. I wrote a page and then got absolutely stuck due to the fact that I couldn't think of anything else that could really happen aside from that. So, me being me, I thought 'sod it' and just decided to let you all assume it's happened. I did explain my impatience concerning plots at the very beginning of all this, comparing myself to a turnip and an upset badger.... 

Anywho, Yaio is making an appearance! Finally! I'm keeping it within the rating I've given the story but if the idea still squicks you leave now. Comments would be good as it's my very first crack at it.

****

Chapter 12: Fray

YVO

//Kiara was exactly three months old yesterday, meaning Yugi decided that she needed some sort of gift, again, and abruptly disappeared, returning with, big surprise, another bear. We are seriously running out of room in the nursery now particularly after I put that sleep-cot in there. I was getting fed up of walking through half the house when she cries at night so I've temporarily moved into the nursery. I think she can sense my presence because she's been quieter since then, only crying a little when she's hungry and so on. I've been reading up on infants more and she should start smiling in another three months. That means that I'm going to need to get my hands on a camera or something...

I was very surprised to find myself switching instantly to my male form a week ago, the process relatively painless, particularly compared to that hell when I 'flickered' whilst carrying Kiara. I think my quick transformation is due to the fact that now I am only supporting myself rather than a child as well my magic worked faster in repelling the curse. I am sincerely glad that I am supported by such magics as I certainly wouldn't have wanted this curse lasting me the rest of my existence, which will most likely be a few more millennia. Adding to that the fact that I was entirely immune to the hot/cold water element and I can start to see some significant advantages to being reincarnated. 

I was worried at one point that the curse would affect Kiara too, but a test quickly proved that unfounded and now I'm happy to have a normal, healthy daughter. I don't think she approved of having cold and warm water being dripped onto her alternatively though.

Yugi was ecstatic when I rather formally introduced her to him as one of her other fathers, which is essentially true. He is me as I am him so technically he is her father too. I had thought it a good idea at the time but now that I'm male again I can see how this is going to be very confusing...

I still have an open invitation to the Kaiba mansion, particularly after Seto saw the nursery the other day and said he was surprised that Kiara fit in there at all. I think he'd rather have me over there; Mokuba told me. I'm starting to become rather fond of Seto's younger brother now that he's acting as my spy...//

****

"Are we going to fight then or continue this staring contest?" Seto asked impatiently, lowering his hands from their stiff position as he regarded his opponent in exasperation.

After staying at the office late into the night for three days, Seto had taken a day off work and was currently stood opposite Yami in one of the largest rooms of the house. The floor was springier in this room having been designed for physical combat, something he had participate in actively until Kaiba.Corp had expanded and he had lost the time to indulge it. 

He was pleased when Yami had reminded him of his promise to duel physically, digging out his old combat uniform, the thin material sliding easily over his skin as he moved. Barefoot, the black pants reached just above his ankles and the matching shirt ended an inch or so below his elbow, the lengths preventing restriction in close quarters.

Yami was dressed in a similar uniform, this one pure white, a colour he had never thought he would see the young man wear, his tastes always leaning to far darker colours. As it was the pristine colour merely enhanced the soft tanned colour of his flesh, the visible whipcord muscles slack at the moment.

Yami smirked as he realized that he had still yet to fall into with an attack or defensive posture, having been too busy staring at Seto's lithe form. Always the one to be dominant, he adopted an attack position, his feet spread wide and arms raised in preparation. Flicking his fingers slightly to indicate that he was ready, his eyes widened slightly when Seto lunged at him with surprising speed.

"You're good," he grunted as he deflected a rather hard kick to the ribs with his forearm, feeling what would eventually be a rather good bruise tingling his skin.

"I trained when I was younger. You?" Seto asked raising a fist again. He was impressed when Yami caught it neatly and pulled his arm over his shoulder, using his momentum to bring him down over his back.

Feeling the air rush out of his lungs, he lay on the ground gasping as Yami stared down at him for a few seconds, kneeling at his side patiently when he nodded reassuringly at him. "I must have had defensive training when I was Pharaoh. I don't remember but I seem to know," he explained, a hand moving vaguely to emphasize his inability to describe it accurately. Seto understood what he was saying though; his body knew, only his mind had forgotten.

"You must have had a good teacher. Again?"

Yami nodded with a smile having already enjoyed every minute so far. It had literally been years since he'd been in a good scrap, probably even longer against an opponent who was as skilled in the martial arts as he was. Despite the aches he would suffer later, he was thrilled that Seto had made and then carried through on the offer to fight.

Lashing out a kick once Seto was ready, he caught a frown on the taller boys face as he grabbed his heel and pulled him forward, landing him rather firmly on his rear. "You're not putting your all into it," he said sounding mildly disappointed as well as frustrated.

"I don't want to hurt you," Yami replied before he'd had a chance to screen the words in his head. He was having to do that a lot now, checking for hidden meanings that could be picked up on if he wasn't careful. Now that he was male again he didn't know if Seto's feelings that had begun to become evident whilst he was female still stood. He didn't want to destroy the chance before he was given it.

Seto quirked a brow at that, appearing quite amused. "You won't. I just want all your energy behind it. Imagine I'm Bakura if it helps."

That did it. Yami had sent a fist towards his face without any warning, connecting solidly with his cheek and causing his head to snap to the side. He'd taken more brutal blows than that in the past though and before Yami had the chance to apologize, which was obviously what he was going to do, he returned with a hand to the gut.

From there it went a bit downhill in terms of style and precision. The moves were becoming more primal as the minutes passed, brute force being used rather than clever strategy. After an hour both combatants were slick with sweat and still fighting strong, hair plastered to their faces and the uniforms clinging rather uncomfortably in places.

Seto had managed to get Yami in an arm-lock on the floor, having to lean hard against the slighter form to prevent him from freeing himself. An unexpected kick from a gradually freed foot to the shin loosened his grip, Yami reacting instantly and ramming an elbow into his torso.

Pouncing with the given opportunity, the Game King grasped both of his wrists and straddled his stomach, hooking his feet beneath Seto's legs to keep him still. Forcing the trapped hands above his opponent's head in this position caused him to have to lean in extremely close to Seto's body, their chest's brushing against each other as he held his wrists down above him.

"I win," he rumbled, looking down intently with burning eyes into Seto's cool ones, their noses almost touching now. The action to move his face closer had been entirely subconscious, only realizing what he had done when he felt warm breath against his lips. 

//I could get used to this.//

For his part Seto seemed frozen. Staring up at Yami utterly unable to move, a distant part of his mind idly thought that if it weren't for the fact that Yami was on his knees they're bodies would be flush together. Glancing down he tried to think of how he could accomplish that with his hands pinned and his legs trapped...

Seeing his gaze flicker, Yami sighed internally as he realized that he had made him uncomfortable, reluctantly lifting his weight off of him and sitting to the side as he sat up. 

Seto rubbed his wrists absetly whilst staring at the floor wondering why the other had backed off. Had he imagined that searing look in the Game King's eyes? Had his feelings changed with his body? Had he even felt anything for him in the first place? 

Rising to his feet and extending a hand down to Yami, Seto pulled him to his feet and stood watching him awkwardly. "Thank you for the match. We'll have to do it again some time. You can clean up here and then I'll have you dropped off."

Nodding slightly in thanks, Yami followed Seto out silently. //I think I'm going to need a cold shower this time.//

****

Seto had walked Yami down to the gates of the grounds, the Game King having opted to walk home rather than be driven. Just as the elder Kaiba brother had turned his back to walk back up to the house, he had found himself calling out to the other. Now with his attention fully on him, Yami had scrambled around in his mind to come up with an excuse as to why he had shouted for him to wait. 

"I'm cooking tonight and since everyone else is coming over, I'd be pleased if you and Mokuba attended also," he said finally, cringing at how he had practically fallen over his words then in near-panic.

Thinking for a second, Seto nodded slightly. "I'd like that."

"Just let yourself in later. You know when we sit down so come anytime before then," Yami continued before nodding once more and practically bolting around the wall, falling into a steady pace as he began jogging back to the Game Shop.

//Yugi?//

//Oh you're done. Are you coming back now? You sound a little out of breath...//

//Get your mind out of the gutter Aibou. Is Kiara okay?//

//She's fine. She woke up for a bit after you left but she's been asleep since. I'm stood next to the crib now.//

//Listen Aibou, I need you to call everyone and invite them around for dinner tonight.//

//What? Okay. Why exactly?//

//I just invited the Kaiba brother's over and I'd rather have everyone else there as well.//

//Did something happen whilst you had me blocked off? Is anything wrong?//

//No. Please do as I ask Aibou. I have enough to worry about as it is.//

//Like what?//

//What I'm going to cook for a large group of people in five hours for one thing.//

****

Knowing that his cooking skills were somewhat limited, boiling rice about the most complicated thing that he could accomplish, Yami had opted for a simple meal which would consist of rice and fish prepared in some way. //I am seriously going to need help with this. Stupid mouth.// 

Yugi had gone out to meet everyone in the park before they all came round here, Mokuba opting to go on his own rather than accompany Seto who planned to arrive earlier. Yami suspected they were going to have pizza or something before hand in case whatever he managed to produce turned out to be inedible. He'd only put the rice in the oven once and they had to been wary of his cooking ever since...

Deciding to gather everything before hand, that whole 'organization' thing, Yami rooted around for the largest pot in the house in which to *boil* the rice. Not finding it in the lower cupboards, he looked up by sheer chance and felt his face drop.

//Does nobody remember that the occupants in this house are actually a good deal shorter than them?// 

Staring up in dismay at the cooking pot that he was after, which a guest had obviously put at the top of the cabinet without thinking, Yami dragged a chair from the table and placed it directly under the pot. Stepping up onto it, he groaned when he felt from the way that it shook that he had chosen the most unstable piece of furniture in existence.

Hoping to get off of the death-chair as quickly as possible, he stretched up and managed to wrap his finger around the china surface. Hauling it back, he felt the side of the chair buckle slightly, causing him to loose his balance in the awkward position. The pair of hands that secured themselves on either side of his hips held him steady though and prevented his descent from even starting.

Believing it to be Yugi, he pulled the pot all the way off of the top of the cabinet and twisted his body to place it on the side. Standing again, he felt the hands move off of him although they were still hovering close to the material of his pants. Turning and looking down to thank his Aibou for his assistance, the words caught in his throat when he saw Seto smirking up at him. He should have figured that those hands were far stronger and larger than his Light's.

"Do you need help getting down too?" Seto asked in an amused tone, his hands returning to his hips and his thumbs caressing the smooth material idly. Yami just rolled his eyes with his own smile pulling before his mind kicked itself into gear. 

//Now is as good an opportunity as any to check that if what happened earlier was a fluke.//

With that thought in place, he then stepped off of the stool and allowed Seto to hold his entire weight. 

//Apparently there are advantages to being small//

Yami found himself latching his own arms around Seto's shoulders when he unexpectedly brought his body towards him. Seeing the taller boy's face twitch as he struggled to hold his weight with just his arms, Yami decided to take pity and test his boundaries concerning this new development. Coiling his legs about the slender waist, he hooked his ankles at the small of Seto's back and cocked a brow at him expectantly.

****

Yugi walked into the kitchen only to freeze completely in the doorway, the door only half open meaning that the group behind him couldn't see what had made him stop. Trying not to laugh when he saw his Aibou sat on the counter and against Seto in probably the most impressive lip-lock he had ever seen, he bit his lip in indecision. 

Not ceasing his actions in the slightest, Yami raised a hand and vaguely waved Yugi away, obviously sensing his presence though their link although for the most part that had been blocked off on his end. Ignoring the questioning shouts from the people behind him, Yugi backed up and shut the door, turning with his back to the wood to face the others, a huge grin threatening to split his head into two pieces.

"I don't think we should go in there for a while," he stated cryptically although everyone there seemed to gather what was going on.

"Yami's in there? With Seto?" Honda asked disbelieving, his face splitting into a grin at the firm nod from Yugi. Mokuba gave a small shout of excitement, quickly quelling it should his brother hear.

"Well finally," Mai muttered although she herself was on the verge of smirking. As it was she was restricting herself to a smile.

Joey however scratched his head in thought before asking Yugi in a serious tone, "You know if anything does happen in there we' re gonna have to eat off that table later?"

They all exchanged strange looks before Yugi interrupted them, waving his hands in an assuring way. "I don't think Yami would do anything like that right now."

There was total silence for a minute before Yugi lost faith in his own words and thumped on the door loudly. He had to shout through the wood for the words to be made out over the near-hysterical sniggering behind him.

"Yami get out of the kitchen right now!" 

****

Ah, fluff to the core! I'll stick another 'already planned that' element in to create the next chapter, which will be a fluff too, and then dip into serious/funny again. I'll tell you something now though; I *had* intended to finish this fic at the end of Chapter 13, I'd written up all the chapters and the ending before Chapter 8 was posted! 

The reason for that was that I was getting 'itchy-fingers' and wanted to crack on with another idea for a Yami-centric fiction I had. That became two, both a hell of a lot darker than this happy little romp, and both which are currently lounging around in Development Hell.

But since you all evidently *love* this fiction so much I started to kick around the idea of a sequel. You know, new title, fresh disclaimer and all that crap? 

I think I'll just continue straight off these chapters though because it is *so* depressing seeing that big old '0' for my number of reviews. I want to have lots and lots of reviews for at least one of my creations and since this one is flourishing, I already have Chapter 15 almost finished! Postings will be regular from now on (family upheaval almost over now. Thank God.) and I would greatly appreciate feedback on what you'd like to read; new plot ideas, suggestions, etc. I am tweaking my stuff accordingly.

Right, those are my plans revealed so count yourselves bloody *honored* that I'm continuing this because the only reason I am continuing past Chapter 13 is because you people keep on reviewing and firing ideas at me. Thank You!!! ;p


	13. Driven

Liked all the reviews so am updating today as well as next Friday.  Nice, aren't I?  Well, a couple of you seem to like the idea of either Seto or Joey taking a dip in the fountain, the former has more votes at the moment but a poll might even the odds.  I've penned Chapter 16 and 17 is in pre-production so there is always time for me to incorporate things like that.  You never know, I might?!  

This is just a light-hearted fluffy/comedy Seto/ Yami thing before I take you onto GQATS Part 2. Hmm, Yami in a car... 

Chapter 13: Driven 

YVO

//I'm not overly disobedient to my Aibou and stopped the *extremely* nice thing I had gotten started with Seto before we both got carried away, getting him to help me make dinner for the pack out there instead.  I could hear everyone outside laughing hysterically and usually it would have me ruffled, but right then with the way Seto's hand was skimming lazily up and down my spine I don't think I could have cared even if I tried.

I disappeared for a little while to tend to Kiara, due her next feeding about halfway through cooking.  Abandoning what he was doing also, Seto followed and had the pleasure of holding her whilst she fed.  He even risked burping her which was quite brave in my opinion; Joey refuses when I offer just to spite him, remembering what happened when he patted her back a bit too vigorously and ended up with a damp shoulder.  I really don't think Kiara likes him anymore now then when she was inside me.

Everyone looked surprised when I dumped the food infront of them; it actually looked edible, the colours what they should have been and the surfaces actually split under the knife.  Of course they would have to remind me of the first time that I 'cooked fish and how they ended up playing table-hockey with it... 

We had finished up after quite a long time due to the enormous levels of discussion during the course of the meal, ranging from Ryou's trip to America with his family to the dueling instruments we could all look forward to from Kaiba.Corp.  By far the most entertaining topic was one under which Joey squirmed more than when Kiara shared her lunch with him...//

****

"And you hit it?" Tea asked barely able to speak through her laughter which only intensified when Joey turned an even deeper shade of red.  Joey had been taking driving lessons for a week now and today's had been, eventful.

"Well he said turn left," he replied indignantly, his voice getting louder as he saw that everyone was going into fits of laughter at his expense.

"And so you turned right," Honda deadpanned knowing exactly what had happened; he'd known Joey way too long not too.

"I'd like to see you try it; it's ain't as easy as it looks!"

"Oh I don't know.  I had lessons a few weeks ago and it seems simple enough once you get the hang of it.  And you learn your left from your right," Seto said before dissolving into chuckles once again.  He could actually see Joey plowing into that cart and turning all of that filth into the road...

"Well I'd like to see Yami drive," Joey stated in an attempt to shift their attention off of him and his accident for a few minutes.  "If he drives as well as he cooked that fish that one time then we should have alot o' laughs ahead of us."

Yami gave him a firm glare before Seto placed a hand on his elbow, his arms currently crossed on the wood of the table.  "I could teach you if you like.  You're old enough, and then some."

"That sounds fine.  I will require help though; the only forms of transportation that I was well versed in before were camels and horses," he replied thoughtfully, smiling at the idea although he was a little nervous of controlling such an engine.    

Bakura, sat at the far end of the table to them with his arms crossed aggressively, smirked then.  "Yami and Seto, sitting in a tree.  K-"

With alarming speed, Yami had snatched up a knife and flung it expertly at the albino-haired boy, the weapon rotating end over end as it traveled through the air.  Bakura though had had far too much experience with weapons and combat to be threatened by the object, reaching up and catching the knife by the blade between two fingers, turning it in his hands as he stared at the Game King smugly.  Yami cursed himself mentally; all he had been after was a reaction.  

//Maybe I can get him away from Yugi and Ryou later and pound his face into the back of his skull...//

Choosing to ignore what had just happened, something that he was finding himself doing a lot in Yami and co's presence, Seto continued.  "Come over tomorrow afternoon.  I'm sure Yugi can look after Kiara for a few hours."

"Sure.  Go ahead Yami.  Maybe you could take the test and get a license," the tri-haired boy said excitedly.

Yami gave him a doubtful look.  "I think I'd need a birth-certificate for that or some other form of identification.  And no you are not going to get forgeries for me Seto; I am well aware that you can."

Frowning slightly at the pre-refused offer, Seto cast his eyes about the table briefly, returning to Mokuba when he saw him grinning like an idiot.  Winking at him with a smirk, he began to thin about which car would be most likely to survive a collision in fair condition...

****

//Oh Ra.  What the hell have I gotten myself into?  Stupid modern-day machines.  I'll admit that the 'basic training' as Seto had put it, went well and I've pretty much mastered the very basics of this driving thing.  But now he says that we should go out of the grounds of the mansion and actually try roads.  Now that I am worried about.

The vehicle is admittedly comfortable, the seat molding about me well and the steering-wheel easily held despite my height.  It's some hind of sports-model according to Seto, something that would be a good start for me due to wide-wheel base, fun engine and a gear-box.  Oh but the noises the latter made when I first tried using it will haunt me for a little while.  I saw Seto wince too but it might have been for financial reasons rather than surprise...//

****

"See, that was fine.  Now, when we come up to this next corner turn right and then carry on straight.  Remember to indicate and check the mirror,' Seto instructed, pointing at the different items as a reminder.  He was actually surprised at how well Yami was doing now that the simplest things had been mastered.  

Yami's face held no signs of anxiety or concern, something that was probably due to pride rather than confidence in the car.  Knowing that he was probably a nervous wreck on the inside now that he was surrounded by moving traffic, Seto put an arm around the tense shoulders and began rubbing the juncture between neck and shoulder casually.  Seeing the former-pharaoh's features shift he ceased his actions deciding that he was likely risking both their lives with such a distraction.

Frowning a little that he had stopped, Yami still took the turning and glanced about the new street trying to figure out where he was now.  Panicking slightly when he realized that this area was completely new to him, and therefor he didn't know what to expect, he gripped the wheel tighter and hoped that this road would just take them somewhere familiar.

Seto on the other hand seemed to be intent on making him get as lost as possible, directing him so that he was deeper into unknown concrete territory not knowing what was coming up next.  

"Okay, after we turn left there's a roundabout.  It's pretty quiet and we've already done one this morning so it shouldn't be a problem," the taller teen assured, sliding his arm from Yami's shoulders and folding his hands in his lap again, watching ahead of them for any sign of something that could be a problem or distraction.

"Which turning?"

"Just go straight across."

Feeling his mood darken slightly at the loss of contact, Yami smirked when he got a wicked idea that should teach the other a lesson.  Turning left as instructed, he fixed his eyes firmly on the obstacle a few yards ahead of them, a mound of earth with a concrete barrier filled with flowers and grass.  He could sense some wary curiosity from Seto as to why that smirk was on his face but he wasn't going to give an further warning of what was going to happen.

//Being Dark has so many perks...//

Checking for traffic and grinning now when he saw that it was deserted, he pressed his foot down on the accelerator a little harder and glance to the side to check the reaction, noting how Seto's eyes were flickering from him to the roundabout uncertainly.

//Ra, don't let this stunt kill us.//

"Yami! What th-"

Too late.  They both winced as the bottom of the car scraped across the concrete ledge, bouncing in their seats when it bumped back down on the other side.  Yami glanced in the mirror to check the damage, feeling a little guilty when he saw two very prominent tire marks tearing through the grass, flowers pulped into the earth or ripped out and thrown to the side.  

"You said ' go straight across'" he smirked at Seto who looked like he was trapped between the urge to laugh and the urge to shout.  When his expression failed to change, Yami began chuckling before laughing outright, pulling the car to the side of the road so as not to endanger their lives by his maniacal laughter.  Soon Seto was joining him, his mind having figured out now what Yami had did that for.  Bloody attention seeker.

Placing his hand on the other teen's inner-thigh he smiled expectantly once the laughter had died down.  "Now if I leave that there will he promise me never, ever to do that again?"

"Hmm.  That will ensure your safety for today but I'm going to need more to quell the urge to run over roundabouts in the future," Yami replied thoughtfully, tipping his head to the side as he ran up the imaginary figures.

Distraction quickly came his way in the form of Seto's mouth, the other pulling him to the side in a heated embrace.  Pulling apart when that annoying little necessity called air made itself known, Yami ran a hand down his partner's slightly flushed features.

"I take it you want to head back?"

Seto snorted reaching across and re-starting the engine before leaning back in his seat.  "You have so much to learn; Cars are not just for driving in.  Just follow my directions and I'll give you a demonstration."

"I'm going to need to learn something new tomorrow," Yami murmured detaching himself reluctantly to bring the car back into motion, heading back down the road they had started down.

"And the day after that."

"And the day after that."

"And the day after that until I run out of things to teach and you just move in with me."

Emergency stops don't come much better than the one Yami just pulled off, wide eyes switching from the road ahead to Seto who was staring back quite innocently.

"Do you mean that?" he asked daring to hope, cursing internally when the question came out little more than a whisper.

Seto rolled his eyes and leaned closer to him once more hoping to relay sincerity through proximity.  "Of course I do stupid. Now *drive*."

Glancing down briefly Yami smirked when he saw the reason for that last part of that sentence to be pretty much growled.  Since he was obviously going to be out for a few hours he knew that he should stop by the house and check on Kiara himself.  But now that he was fairly squirming in the seat and he had no idea how long it would take them to get to the destination Seto obviously had in mind, Yami settled for calling to his Aibou instead.

//Aibou?  Is Kiara alright?//

//She's fine.  Joey actually just fed her and she kept it down!  He's really smug now and is reading to her before she goes to sleep.  I think she's starting to like him a bit more.//

//I was hoping she wouldn't take on too many of Seto's earlier personality traits.  If her first word towards him was 'fetch' I don't think Joey would be very happy.//

//Are you coming back now?//

//Erm, not exactly.  I'm going to be closing the link between us for a while actually.  I thought I'd 'check in' on you two first though.//

//Oh right.  Well, have fun.//

//Stop giggling!//

//I can't help it!  It's great!  Stay out all afternoon if you want; come back when you can't walk!//

//Aibou! Ra, I'm going to have to wash your mouth out later...//

//*Anyway*, we'll see you later.  Be careful in that car.//  

"Yami, I don't think you should talk to Yugi whilst driving," Seto warned seeing the blank expression on his face.

'Crunch'.

//Oops.  I need to go.  See you later.//

"Um, Seto?  How bad is it to run those over?"

"Pretty bad, but it's inanimate so you didn't exactly kill it.  Just keep driving and try to look innocent."

"That'll be a trick."

"I wouldn't have you any other way though."

END

I kinda tapered off there, I know, but I thought it was a nice way to end it so I'm happy.  Lemme know if you liked all this via that wonderful little thing called the review box and I hope to hear from you in response to future chapters.  I really love those reviews...

Oh and the roundabout stunt?  My dad did that. In an army vehicle. That was also a sixteen wheeler...  Anyone who has ever wondered where I come up with this insanity now knows that it's in my blood.

Let's hold a little poll, shall we?  Joey or Seto?  Which would be funnier to have dunked in the spring?

Review.


	14. Sickness

Three little words explain why I am updating today as well as this coming Friday.

Over 100 reviews

(Sniffles) Can this be?! (Two tears slip out) Angels and Ministers of Grace can this really be true?!!!! HOLY HELL!!! Right, I'm fine. Really. (Runs away because is now weeping joyous tears onto the keyboard which is making alarming sounds and fizzling in protest. Returns with smeared mascara but looks happy and smug) Cool. When I got started in this writing thing I used to think double figures was an achievement. Moving on....

I bid you welcome to the 'the author didn't expect this' series! Please enjoy this and tell me when I'm flogging a dead horse so that I can tie it up and stick 'End' on it rather than drag it out in a depressing manner. Keep reviewing too because I *love***** that!

Chapter 14: Sickness

YVO

//Life is going beautifully. Kiara is four months old and her first word was, rather ironically, 'ma'. I moved out of the Game Shop entirely three months ago and am now living quite comfortably with Seto and Mokuba, the latter of which is extremely pleased with the arrangement because it means Yugi visits them more. 

It was quite a large decision on my part but Yugi stated that I had become a person in my own right rather than just his guardian. I felt a huge swell of pride at his words; he really has become independent of me, but I have no intentions of abandoning all of my responsibilities towards him. My soul room is still intact, although I haven't been in there in months, meaning that I still have some duties before I am totally freed from my role of guardian.//

*****

The house was silent, utterly still in the dark that consumed every crevice and corner of its structure. That is until a high pitched wailing made itself known rather effectively.

Seto groaned a little as he was dragged out of his dreams, shifting the arm over his chest slightly to wake his partner. "She's hungry."

Yami sighed, not even making a marginal attempt to open his eyes. "It's your turn. And your 'you make milk' excuse expired some time ago'."

"I got up a few hours ago. It's your turn," he replied firmly, shaking the body a bit more roughly as encouragement.

Growling slightly, Yami heaved himself out of the shared bed and shrugged on a robe, tripping on it when he tried to walk and discovered that it wasn't his. Yawning broadly, he stumbled down the hallway to the next room where Kiara was quite happily screaming her head off.

Taking a bottle from the sterilization kit on the side, Yami filled it with milk out of the fridge and moved to the crib, her cries instantly stopping as she sensed his presence. She gurgled happily and smiled as he lowered the bottle down to her, holding the end as she supported the top clumsily with her small hands.

Lifting her after discarding the empty bottle, Yami held her to his shoulder and began rubbing her back firmly, pacing the room absently as he did so. After getting the desired result, he began walking her back to the bed when she squealed a sound that was as close to a word as she would get at this hour. "Da!"

"You managed to pry yourself off the mattress then?" Yami asked without turning, knowing full well that Seto was behind him. That was confirmed when a pair of arms snaked around his waist, holding him close as he replaced Kiara in the crib, bringing the patterned blanket up to her chest and winding up the mobile, a soothing melody filling the room as it turned.

"Actually I remembered it was my turn; neither of us were in any position to get up earlier," he smirked into his hair, earning an elbow in the ribs.

"She should sleep for another four hours or so and I for one am going to make very good use of that time," Yami murmured stepping out of the embrace and padding back into their room, slipping the robe off onto the floor and climbing back under the thick duvet.

"And how might that be?" Seto asked following the other out, sitting on the edge of the bed at his waist after he was under the sheets.

Yami barked a laugh before rolling onto his side. "I'm going to sleep! And I suggest you do the same because I am *not* getting up again at such an un-godly hour tonight."

"Fine. Sleep. Mokuba's heading to the pools in a couple of hours. I think the others are going too. Do you want to come?" he asked sliping back under the covers himself and replacing his hand on Yami's side.

"That sounds fine. I take it you've already sorted this out with the sitter?"

"I didn't come to run my own company by not planning ahead."

"Don't pull the smug superior act on me; you know it doesn't work. Now kindly shut up and go to sleep."

"Cranky tonight, aren't you?"

"Be silent or I will hit you."

"But that's half the fun-ow!"

"I did warn you."

****

"You getting in the pool Yami?" Joey shouted with a laugh from the water, surfacing with his unruly hair plastered to his face long enough to call to the Game King who watched them from a lounger.

Ryou, Mokuba, Honda and Tea were also in the pool involved in what appeared to be a rather violent game of water-polo, Mokuba in the process of near-drowning Honda at present for the ball.

Seto was off with Yugi fetching ice-creams and Bakura was sat on the opposite side of the pool scowling at Yami, seemingly putting rather a lot of energy into it. That made sense though because Yami had casually shoved him into the water fully clothed just an hour ago.

Rolling his eyes, Yami nodded and stood from the lounger, pausing with a hand raised to his head at the sudden feeling of light-headedness that swamped him. //Got up too fast then. Note; don't do that again.//

Shaking off the feeling, he moved to the edge of the pool and sat on the edge dangling his legs in the water to get accustomed to the chill. Joey had other ideas though for he swan up beneath him and grabbed his ankle, pulling sharply and bringing him under-water too.

Glowering at him through the barrier of water, Yami twisted and kicked off the wall to propel himself at Joey who had had a moment of clarity in realizing that that probably hadn't been the best idea. Years of swimming in the Nile though had Yami refined and he caught up to the larger teen within seconds, Grabbing his arm and bringing the both up from the bottom.

Coughing harshly, Yami glowered at the petrified boy before shoving him away and drifting backwards with a smirk. Splashing his hand at Yami with his own, admittedly relieved smile, Joey swan back to rejoin the polo-match which if anything was now more hostile than before, particularly since Bakura saw that there was violence involved and joined in.

Treading water for a few minutes before he heard a shout from his Aibou announcing their return, Yami swam back to the ledge and hauled himself out. Once again though, as he stood his head went strange, this time almost sending him back into the water.

"Hey, are you alright? The colour just drained from your face," Yugi asked, staring up at his Dark with an ice-cream in his hand that was currently dribbling down his fingers, not that he seemed to notice.

"I'm fine. I think I need to get something to eat though. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Leaving Yugi to tell Seto that he was leaving for a few minutes, Yami headed down the smooth, winding path to the food-stand, regarding the menu for a few moments before ordering a hotdog. Holding his prize carefully as he turned, he nearly dropped it when he stepped into Mai.

"I didn't know you were coming today," he stated smiling still, bringing a free hand up to wipe away some of the grease on her forearm.

"Well now you know. Are you heading back now? I'm not getting anything; I just wanted to say 'hi'. The grease was an added bonus," she smirked with a raised brow, motioning to the hotdog in his hand.

"Yes, I'm sorry for that. Seto, Yugi and the rest are all by the pool," Yami said starting to walk at her side, enjoying her company even though they were both silent all the way back to the pool.

When they got back to the water Yami dumped the paper from his snack into the bin, turning to face Mai again who was staring at him incredulously. "Wow. You really wolfed that down," she said with a twinge of admiration.

Yami frowned slightly then gave a half shrug. "I know. It's strange, I don't really like them either."

"Well, don't get any bright ideas and get into the water again for a good hour after eating that. You'll make yourself sick."

"Don't worry Mai, I have no intention of moving out of the sun for some time now."

****

Despite waiting for well over an hour and a half before getting back into water, Yami felt positively violent when he got back out, instantly moving to Seto and lifting the puzzle up from the bundle of clothes under the lounger.

"You look terrible, Yami. Should I take you to the hospital?" the brunette asked noticing now how pale he looked, his hands trembling slightly as he gripped the puzzle in his lap.

"No, it's fine. I'm probably just tired from all these midnight-feedings. If you don't mind I'm going to go into the puzzle for a bit," Yami said, looking up from the golden-object in an attempt to be reassuring.

"Alright. I'll let Yugi know so you get some rest. I'll see you later."

Not even nodding with the way his head felt now, Yami closed his eyes before disappearing in a flash of light, sinking into the old but reassuring familiarity of his soul-room. He glanced about the darkness briefly, pleased to see that nothing had changed, before waving his hand and bringing some light to the gloom. The large bed, adorned with black, silk sheets and gold and black pillows was visible now a few meters ahead of him, Yami walked towards it the second it appeared.

Yawning as he flopped onto the smooth surface, he noted with relief that his symptoms were less severe here, as they always were in his domain. Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the endless abyss that comprised his ceiling, eyes widening slightly when he saw something above him that definitely shouldn't have been there.

It was tiny, barely noticeable which was the reason he hadn't spotted it when he had first entered. Gold in colour, the miniscule ball of light throbbed and glowed contently about his head. Unsure at what had invaded his soul room and uncertain about approaching something with the power to do that, Yami moved to stand on the bed and reached up a hand to touch the object.

Yelping in surprise and withdrawing his hand rapidly, he found that the thing was almost entirely comprised of energy to the extent where it actually shocked him, his skin still tingling from the contact. Probing the rest of his soul room with his mind, Yami found that it wasn't doing any damage or having any affects other than its presence, and as long as he didn't touch it the that itself was harmless too. Deciding to further investigate this when he actually had the energy to think, Yami cast it one more suspicious look before curling on his side and succumbing to sleep.

*****

It was an undeterminable amount of time before he awoke, faintly hearing Yugi calling to him although he stopped trying before Yami could respond, obviously deciding that he was still asleep and leaving it at that.

Feeling far more refreshed, he stretched languidly and cast his eyes upwards, noting with some dismay that the little fire-ball was still there, twinkling as happy as he had left it. Sighing, he rolled onto his side and actually shouted in surprise when he found his face practically in the robes of the person standing at the edge of the bed. Bolting upright and shoving himself backwards, Yami frowned mildly annoyed at the intruder, his heart still racing at the surprise.

"Tetsuo? What the hell are you doing here? And for future reference I'd rather you not do that," he grumbled, sitting up more regally now as he regarded the lavender-haired man before him.

Tetsuo laughed softly at his surprise, his hands moving to clasp infront of him, the markings running up his bare arms still although the ones under the scars beneath his eyes were still shifting down slowly. "I apologize Yugioh for startling you, although it was quite a pleasure seeing you so ruffled. As to why I'm here, I just wanted to see if you knew yet. My curiosity does get the better of me, this time giving me the incentive to materialize without a summoning from you."

"Knew what?" Yami asked with more civility. After all, this particular card had saved his life unknown times in the past and had saved him and his friends, not to mention Kiara, some months ago. It had earned his respect and gratitude.

Tetsuo smiled at that, a genuine smile that touched his demon-like eyes. His robes shifted noiselessly as he moved his hands back to his sides. "Obviously not yet then. It is not my place to tell you, nor would I if it were, but I shall give you a piece of information that may be worth you knowing, for 'future reference'."

Utterly confused now, Yami motioned for him to continue, hoping to gain understanding as the sorcerer spoke. 

"You could have come into this room whenever you wished whilst you were with Kiara; she was tied to you on every level meaning that your metaphysical state would bring her no harm," he said simply before stepping back from the bedside, obviously preparing to leave. Before Yami could ask for an explanation for that 'explanation' Tetsuo was gone, a streak of crimson in the air slowly fading away after his departure.

//What in the name of Ra was all that about?//

TBC

Sorry it was shorter but I wanted a cliff-hanger ad if I wrote anymore in this chapter I'd loose that. Then you wouldn't be overly inclined to read the next chapter. Or review. See? I *am* an evil genius!

Oh, something for you all to look forward to (and an excuse to read the next couple of chapters), I am taking the 'gang' to the shops. That's in Chapter 18 (Yes. I have written up to there. Not finished yet but I'm there) and it's pretty much an insanity fic that takes a big detour from the going plot. Just a teaser there for you all. 

(Yawns) Right, I'm tired now so my usual incessant ramblings are going be lacking any length here. Leave a review. Throw a plot suggestion/ 'would-like-to-see' at me if you like. Read Chapter 15 if it's there. If not, come back next Friday. G'night.


	15. Inklings

I am a review whore.  Wasn't going to update until Friday but all these reviews nearly made my cry so you get *two* updates this week!  Alright, I really have to get to work on these chapters now so do your part and review me for all my hard work. Right, could somebody please tell me because I really don't know; is Nyannichuan a spring or a fountain?  You know, an ornamental, man-made fountain or just some concrete structure stuck on top of a natural spring and called a fountain?  Excuse cock-ups due to ignorance but if someone does actually know then just note in down for me please. 

This chapter took me quite a while and a significant amount of effort because it needed to 'get the ball rolling' for the next part of this series.  Please appreciate this and tell me the same.  After all that work flames may very well make me cry or go on a killing spree...  The line between those two isn't that fine, surely?

Chapter 15: Inklings 

YVO

//I'm still utterly confused by what Tetsuo said to me, but if he summoned himself from the Shadow Realm just to speak to me it must be quite serious.  I am quickly learning that his otherwise amiable character can be utterly detestable at times; he seems to derive pleasure from talking in spirals, closer to the truth on every pass but never quite reaching it until his choosing.  This, of course, is just fantastic...  And just when everything was actually going smoothly too.

Yugi was kind enough to come over with the others to the house whilst I was still in the puzzle, meaning that I didn't have to walk back to get to my new home.  Instead I was given the time I needed to examine the new entity in my soul-room.  It's actually starting to frighten me now as I have no clue as to why it's there, how it got there or even what it is.  All I know is that it isn't doing anything; just floating there and glowing impressively.

I didn't mention it to anyone, not even Yugi.  I see no need to make a fuss over something that isn't actually doing anything to warrant concern.  I have learnt that the hard way over the last year.  Still, sensing that I still wasn't quite 'right' that evening, Seto had come to bed with me early and simply left me to sleep.  I felt physically better to be honest; I was just preoccupied with Tetsuo's words and the object in my soul room to really pay others much attention.  Were the two related?  Should I be worried?  Why had I felt sick most of the day? 

Urgh. Stupid mind analyzing things when it should be sleeping...//

****

Waking quickly after feeling around idly and finding himself alone, Yami sat upright in the bed that now felt entirely too large, scrubbing a hand through his hair and yawning broadly.  Still a little tired due to the fact that his mind had refused to shut down for hours last night, he flopped back onto the pillows and stared at the ceiling letting his thoughts wander.

The smell of something cooking downstairs coaxed him out of the bed a few minuets later though, and feeling his stomach twitch at the scent he quickly dressed and followed it downstairs.  Finding his nose led him to the kitchen, he walked in on Mokuba's 'order' for breakfast.

"Right, I want a big greasy fried egg on a piece of toast with grilled tomato and one of those black puddingy type things."

"Sorry Mokuba but we're out of eggs," Seto replied from where he was stood over the cooker.  Apparently they had decided to cook for themselves this morning, the usual chief taking a day's holiday.  "Plenty of beans though.'

"Sounds good, but cook the beans first and then let the sauce soak into the toast so that it goes all- morning Yami.  Um, are you alright?  You don't look so good."

Seto turned around to see him himself at hearing the genuine concern in his sibling's voice, bringing with the movement the pan of beans, which were now quite visible.  Yami took one look at the contents of the pan before getting a pained look and bolting out of sight, diving into the downstairs bathroom and locking the door behind him.

Thankfully he hadn't eaten in hours so t was only dry-retching, but the sensation was unpleasant all the same.  Realizing that he would likely never be able to eat beans again for the rest of his life after that, Yami splashed some cold water on his face and reemerged only to find Seto's hands on his shoulders, one immediately moving to his forehead.  Yami could only blink at him with wide eyes.

"You're not warm or anything.  What happened?" he asked, voice laced with concern as he searched Yami's features for any sign of illness.

Yami raised his hands and placed them on Seto's, gently extracting himself from his grip.  "I'm fine, really.  Just the sight of-, no, I'll be sick if I think about it."

"You're acting extremely strange.  Yesterday you looked bad and now this.  I really think you should see a doctor."

Rolling his eyes at the fawning display, Yami stepped past him into the kitchen, happy to see that the beans had been removed from sight.  Mokuba had vanished too, obviously to give them space for whatever was going to transpire next.  Collecting a piece of toast from the pile in the middle of the table, he nibbled on the corner cautiously before finding that his stomach had settled enough for him to consume all of it.

"I probably got mild food-poisoning from that hotdog yesterday.  Anyway, my stomach feels fine now so please don't start worrying.  A doctor is entirely unnecessary.  It probably has something to do with that thing in my soul-room."

//Shit!  Did I just say that?!  Oh Ra I can be so *mindless* first thing in the morning.  That was how Yugi convinced me to go roller-blading...//

"What 'thing'?  What aren't are you not telling me?"  There was hint of hurt in his eyes now, which of course meant that Yami turned into proverbial goo.

"It's just this strange glowing orb that appeared above my bed.  It hasn't been doing any harm, although I have no idea how long it's been there.  I've only just started to feel unwell so the two may not be connected at all."

"Or it could be something a creature from the Shadow Realm has stuck in there to try and kill you!  Damn it, it's probably Pegasus...  I *knew* he wouldn't just let you go after that duel to get Joey, Honda and Tea back.  He-"

Further musings were cut off by a hand connecting rather solidly with Seto's jaw, causing him to bring his hand up to his cheek and glower at Yami.  Giving him a gentle apologetic kiss, Yami looped his arms around his neck and sought to make the other think rationally and a bit more calmly.  

He had been around Pegasus enough to be able to sense if he had done something significant in his realm, and he severely doubted that the unstable man had the skill to put something in his soul room without him knowing.

Still, Seto's words held some sense.  Already Yami was beginning to feel more concerned.

"Look, I'll go and see Yugi later and then go back into my soul room.  I'll see if I can figure out what it is, if it's a threat and so forth.  Then, I'll see if there is anything at all that could indicate Pegasus's involvement and tell you accordingly.  Then you and I can go beat him to a pulp and bury him in salt.  If I find no connection whatsoever, then I'll go to the hospital.  Again.  Does that sound reasonable?"    

After turning the words over in his head for a moment, Seto nodded in agreement.  "And you promise to tell me?  I know you-you keep things to yourself if you think you can handle them on your own.  Now that we have a relationship you have to talk to me."

"I promise," Yami replied with a smirk at the speech, immediately preventing anything else that would need to be taken seriously from coming out of his mouth by reaching up and flicking the end of his nose.  Seto, on the other hand, prevented any further noise that Yami could make through his mouth by sealing his own over it.  

Mokuba was smart and left the house.

****

As promised, Yami went over to the Game Shop that afternoon and explained the situation to him, not voicing Seto's speculation that it was Pegasus's doing fearing that it would get the younger boy worried about him.  He did not wish to form another club again...

Of course Yugi was eager to help in any way that he could and said that Yami was welcome to stay in the puzzle as long as he needed to, sheepishly adding that he'd actually missed feeling his Dark's presence.  Even though Yami had officially left the house now, Yugi still continued to wear the puzzle, as a reminder of his guardian and a comfort when he felt lonely.

After watching the light with a naive-fear that it might attack him for a few minutes, Yami had stood on the bed in the darkness of his soul room and reached a hand up to touch it again, prepared this time for the shock he expected to receive.  Contact hurt but he ignored it and tried to obtain a feel for what it was, failing miserably and giving up when he felt the metaphysical skin on his hand beginning to burn.

"What in the name of Ra are you?" he murmured at it as he sat down, crossing his legs and staring up at the light in contemplation.

"The Easter Bunny."

Snapping his head round at the voice, Yami bit off the scathing remark that was on his tongue when he saw that it was Tetsuo, obviously having gotten bored in the Shadow Realm again and visiting.  He was seriously beginning to think that there was more to this card than was being revealed to him.

"The what?  Tetsuo do you know what this is?" Yami asked sharply, motioning to the orb with a hand whilst his eyes remained on the robed figure.

Tetsuo smiled at him even more broadly, obviously thoroughly enjoying himself as mirth was evident in his eyes.  "To be honest, Yugioh, I do not know what the 'Bunny creature is exactly myself.  But no matter as that isn't him."

Fuse evaporating now, Yami narrowed his eyes to slits and glared at him.  When he spoke this time the tone was firmer, each word being punctuated by his hand jabbing at the orb above him.  "What.  Is.  It?"

"For someone so intelligent you really can be an idiot at times," Tetsuo said with a disbelieving smile, shaking his head slightly as he watched Yami.  Sighing and rolling his dark eyes, he stepped forward and leaned in close to Yami's face.  

"Surely you realize by now?  That mysterious light above your bed, your lightheadedness and the morning sickness?  Please put two and two together so I don't have to."

Realization hit like a lightening bolt, Yami's eyes going as wide as saucers as he stared blankly.

"That's right.  You're knocked up again.  Congratulations."

Yami totally lost the ability to speak for a good few minutes, staring frozen at Tetsuo as he waited for the punch-line.  When he did nothing but stare right back at him levelly, Yami found something resembling a voice and breathed out, "How?"

"Well, it all comes down to your Millennium Item.  You see, it repelled the fountain's curse because your magic sensed on some level that it was somehow a threat to you and it slowly wore off, working faster the second time you got soaked because you weren't supporting a child at the same time.  

"However the repulsion of the curse was only, shall we say, 'cosmetic'.  The ability to create and hold life remained and shall remain until the day you die because the curse was supposed to last until the day you die. Only now, you only have to live with an element of it rather than the entire package.  You are quite capable now of carrying a child to term in whatever form, although wider hips would likely be superior in terms of comfort."

"It's not possible," Yami stated flatly when he had finished explaining, his head reeling from all the information being thrown at him.

"No, and having a Duel Monsters card talking to you isn't possible either.  I didn't expect you to accept this or even understand this right away.  Actually I hadn't expected to have to tell you at all because all the signs are there.  Kindly get past this denial of yours and see the truth for yourself in the physical realm, like you did last time."

Having said his piece and then more, Tetsuo tipped his head in a respectable farewell gesture before stepping back into the shadows, his form vanishing silently and leaving a wisp of crimson smoke in its wake.

Yami gaped at the empty space where Tetsuo had been before turning his gaze back up to the little orb.  If he hadn't of known that it was just a throbbing ball of light he would have sworn that it looked smug.

//This is going to be a very long day.//

****

Returning to the physical realm, Yami found himself face to face with Yugi who actually gave a shout of surprise at suddenly having his guardian on his toes.  Obviously Yami had gotten a little rusty at position when he popped back into the world.  He had been about to comment before he saw the utterly shocked look on the other's face, the taller boy blinking owlishly at him.

"Yami?  What's wrong?  Did you figure out what that light was?" he asked instantly, grabbing his hand and leading him to the bed before practically pushing him down on it.  Sitting at his side, he watched his Dark expectantly for an answer.  

//Get a hold of yourself you idiot.  Just.  Tell.  Him.//

"Aibou," he began, his voice at an uncomfortably higher pitch.  Clearing his throat, he tried again.  "Um, see it's.  I..?  It's happened again."

Yugi furrowed his brow at him, not quite understanding what in the hell he was trying to say.  Actually saying it would have been a great help.

"What's happened?  Why-oh!"

Understanding had hit when the smaller boy realized that Yami's face had the same hesitancy and disbelief as when he told him about Kiara.  Glancing down for verification, he met Yami's confirming gaze before releasing a breath and breaking into a relieved smile.

"Thank God.  I thought it was something serious."

"What in the hell do you mean *something serious*?!  This is bloody-fucking serious!" Yami snapped instantly, pouncing on the relieved tone which sounded very inappropriate to his ears.

"Well, yeah, but it isn't life-threatening or anything.  It's wonderful!  All we have to do is take you back to the Nyannichuan fountain and-"

"Aibou, I don't *want* to go back to Nyannichuan.  I do not like that female form; I'm not comfortable in it.  And now that I've moved in with Seto...  I think it'll be alright if I stay like this until it is actually necessary to go, then I will without hesitation.  If this curse left me with the ability to conceive then I don't think it's a stretch to believe that is has also enabled me to be able to carry a child."  

"So some of the effects of the curse stayed?  I thought it had worn off."

"So did I.  Tetsuo told me that the change was mostly cosmetic."

"Who's Tetsuo?"

"Someone I'd quite like to thump hard and repeatedly.  I'll introduce you sometime.  Listen, I don't want to go and tell Seto until I'm sure; this is all a little hard to believe.  I'd rather have confirmation than just go on Tetsuo's word."

"Chemist's then?"

"If you wouldn't mind because there is no way in the Seven Hells I am going on my own."

****

They had locked themselves in the men's room of the arcade, Yami refusing to take the test back to the Game Shop or the Kaiba Mansion and Yugi so excited about it that he demanded to have in confirmed or denied immediately.  Currently, Yami had been in the cubical for ten minutes utterly silent whilst Yugi sat on the sinks with a look of complete exasperation.

"Would you just take it already?" he shouted when he heard someone bang on the outside door for the fifth time.

"I have, Aibou," came the irritated reply.

"And?"

"I don't know.  I haven't looked at it yet."

"Why?"

There was silence then so Yugi closed his eyes and felt through their link, trying to determine what was happening.  "Oh, you're scared.  Do you want me to look at it?"

"That would make me *extremely* happy."

"Okay.  You come out here then and I'll go in there.  You really are being childish about this."

"Well you're not faced with the possibility of carrying a sixty-pound baby in your gut."

"It wasn't sixty-pounds, Yami."

"It bloody felt like it."

"Oh come on, aren't you just a little excited?"

"Shut up and get in there so I can stop wondering."

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then."

"Don't be clever."

"Fine, fine.  Right, you stand there and I'll see what–oh."

"'Oh' what?  'Oh' *what*?!"

****

Seto Kaiba, owner of KaibaCorp. and henceforth quite a busy person in the office, had half a mind to tear the head off of the person who seemed to think that they would just waltz into his office, particularly after he'd said that no-one was to disturb him today.  He'd been spending a lot of time at home recently which meant that work had piled up and he'd have to work extremely hard to get back on schedule today.  This did not help his mood.'

Looking up, the pre-prepared glare slipped off of his features to be replaced with a smile as he watched Yami approach his desk.  He hardly ever came to the office, usually keeping Mokuba company or out with the entire group.  When he did come to the office it was usually to distract him from work in a most effective way.  His excuse?  Either 'you've been working too hard' or 'I was bored'.  Seto had no complaints.

Today though Yami had brought something with him; a small plastic bag that he held in his left hand.  Standing with his legs a stride apart directly opposite Seto at the desk, he tipped his head to the side with a smile before rather dramatically tipping the contents of the bag onto the wood, not dropping his gaze from his eyes as they scattered across the surface.

"I thought I'd make sure," he stated flatly, coming around the desk and dropping the empty bag into the waste-paper basket before casually moving into his lap, actually looking at the mess on the desk now.

Quite bewildered, Seto reached out the hand that wasn't around Yami's waist and picked up one of the plastic sticks, turning it over until he figured out what it was.  Snatching up another one he saw the same result, a quick glance across the table showing that all the tests were confirming.

"How?" he asked, twisting slightly to face Yami and returning his other hand to his body.

Yami searched his face before answering, looking for something that perhaps Seto didn't want to voice, or was afraid to.  Seeing nothing except for curiosity, he quirked his brow and squirmed until his head was beneath Seto's chin, his face pressing into the warmth coming through the suit.

"Curse.  Puzzle.  You being too fertile for your own good.  I'll explain as much as I know later.  It's just-"

"A lot, I know.  Hmm, should I get some strawberries in now or are you going to be craving something new and exciting this time around?  Watermelon?  Coffee?  You can forget it if it's something sugar-laden though because I've seen how hyper you get."

Yami frowned against the material of his shirt.  He hadn't expected him to take this so calmly, particularly given his own reaction.  He had had to pace the arcade a few times before heading over here just to get his head straight.  Oh, and to get eight more tests of different brands incase one wasn't right.

"You're not mad?"

Now it was Seto's turn to frown, squeezing the form curled in his lap reassuringly.  "Of course not you prat.  I've always wanted to fill up that house; it's too quiet and empty all the time.  It's much better when you're around and another child would be perfect.  Why?  Are you less than ecstatic about this?"

"No-no.  It's not that at all; I'm happy, really.  I was just worried about how you'd take it, mostly because of how you reacted the first time."

"Things were different then, you know that.  Should I arrange to have a car take you to Nyannichuan tomorrow, or do you want me there?"

"I'm not switching until I have to; it's perfectly fine that way thanks to the curse.  By the way, *we* are going to start taking precautions in the future after this.  That or you're being pregnant with the next one."

"No, I wouldn't want to steal your thunder.  Anyway, I don't want to get fat-ow!"

"Say that again and I will have you crucified with your own pens."

"Hormones are making a return too then?"

"Watch it.  That one looks to have a particularly sharp tip."

TBC

Well that turned out a lot longer than I anticipated.  Hope you enjoyed that.  Leave a review and tell me the same.


	16. Discoveries

Right, figured I needed a second plot to intertwine with this one, or run alongside it, whatever, so I'm introducing a new element here. Not original by any means, but it'll help support another aspect that I want included later on. Who says I can't plan?! 

If you are not happy with the impact said plot has on this fic or are unhappy with how it was introduced, you can piss off a cliff with a noose around your neck connected to an unyielding tree-trunk for all I care.

Excuse bluntness of new-plot-entry because this just popped up when my imagination came off strike due to all the pressure I was putting on it. You bloody people demanding chapters are the cause of that pressure by the way... Aw hell; I'M LOVING WRITING THIS THING EVEN WITHOUT THE PRESSURE!!! 

Right, have told you know so will tell you something else; I was about writing about three or four chapters ahead of what you were reading before but after this posting you're back on my heels so I'm wetting myself about getting the next chapter out. Will be fine though because am cool, calm and collected and know what I'm doing... Bullshit; I'm terrified.

Flames I don't care about. Praise I adore and reward. Ideas I will build you a shrine for.

And for those of you who are sensitive to profanity, leave now because I get rather creative with it here...

****

Chapter 16: Discoveries

YVO

//Thanks to Yugi's phone skills everyone knew about my second pregnancy within a day, arranging to have a celebratory party the following week. On the day of the celebration, Yugi spent half the morning zipping around like a hyper-active hummingbird. As it was at the Kaiba mansion due to sheer volume of people, I spent all morning helping Yugi and Mokuba stock up on snack foods and various drinks. Seto left the office early to come and as of such was at work since the early hours to manage the workload. 

It started out innocently enough; pizza, crisps and a few movies. Then Joey sprung the alco-pops and it all got a little nuts. I stayed away from any alcoholic beverage, of course, but Yugi complained that it would be boring if I was in a normal state of mind whilst the rest of them were 'tipsy'. As a result he fed me sherbet by the spoonful until I was grinning like an idiot and giggling like a maniac.

The game of 'Twister' got a whole lot stranger when my sugar-fueled mind started making changes to the rules; I am the King of Games after all. I know how to make things interesting... Covering the mat with chocolate syrup was Mokuba's idea but the punishments for failing to stick the appropriate body part on the required colour was mine. It took Joey a fortnight to even think about forgiving me, probably because his eyebrows had just about grown back. 

Despite my mind's 'incapacitation', I did pick up on something unusual when we were in the middle of a game of truth or dare. When required to stretch his arms up above his head and hop around whilst singing the British National Anthem, the material of Ryou's shirt lifted so much that the skin on his stomach was exposed. I was the only one to notice the purplish marks marring the pale skin, Ryou sitting back down grinning when he had accomplished his task obviously unaware that I had seen.

I honestly thought that Bakura had stopped hitting Ryou some time ago, but obviously he has started again. I didn't want to embarrass him so I didn't mention it but I intend to today when we all go to the park this afternoon. It is in my nature to protect my friends, and Ryou is my friend. I have no intention of allowing the cruelty that his yami is showing him to continue.//

****

The weather was glorious despite it being autumn, crisp auburn leaves littering the ground as a reminder that it wasn't actually summer. The group, including Seto who had taken a hint and gotten a personal assistant, were all at the park simply enjoying each other's company. 

Having been fed, Kiara was unconscious again so bringing her with them wasn't an option at all; going out when full made her cranky, which was bad and quite hard to deal with.

Yugi was off playing with Mokuba, Tea, Joey and Honda in the aptly named play area, Mai was talking to Seto about life in general and Yami, after a frustratingly long time, had managed to get Ryou away alone. Bakura was watching the larger group playing and grumbling under his breath, obviously bitching about them being childish or similar.

Trying to adopt as non-aggressive a posture as possible, Yami chose to get straight to the heart of the matter and his first sentence after the pair had walked away from the others a bit showed as much.

"When did Bakura start on you again?" he asked seriously, making a conscious effort not to cross his arms or shove his hands in his pockets, either of which he was practically itching to do.

Ryou's chocolate eyes widened marginally at that before an expression came to his features that showed his mind was already conjuring up a way to either deny or joke off the allegations. The look on Yami's face stopped him though and he sighed, leaning back against the tree trunk and sinking to the ground as Yami followed. 

"About a month ago. It's not been serious," he replied with a slight shrug, watching the boy sitting cross-legged across from him, obviously waiting for a reaction from the once-pharaoh.

Yami scowled at him slightly. "If he's touched you at all it's serious. I know he's hit you in the stomach; where else? What has he done?"

The platinum-haired boy frowned in confusion at that. "Why the sudden interest? You showed concern the first time and offered action, but now it seems that you're going to confront him whatever I say."

He actually gave a small, slightly sheepish smile at the question. "I've gone from being a guardian to being maternal. Now answer my question." 

Ryou shook his head defiantly. "No, I shan't tell you. I know you will only go to hurt him and I'd rather you'd didn't."

A slender brow arched. "So what has he done that would warrant me harming him?"

He gave an exasperating sigh a shook his head with an amused smile. "I'll tell you nothing. He is my yami and my responsibility." 

"Fine. I guess I'll have to find out myself," Yami stated flatly before lunging forward, dragging the slightly larger boy down sideways from the trunk and running his fingers rapidly across his chest. He didn't intend to actually look; that would be a gross violation of Ryou's privacy not to mention his wishes. No, he would just torture him instead.

Actually crying from being tickled so much, Ryou brought his arms to try and shove Yami off of him, failing miserably and only accomplishing getting his wrists locked above his head with one hand whilst the other still ran mercilessly over him.

"Should I be worried about competition now?" came an amused voice from behind them.

Grabbing Yami by the collar, who yelped in response to the admittedly violent movement, Seto hauled him to his feet and pressed him against his chest with an arm wrapped tightly around his waist. Setting his eyes on Ryou who was watching in amusement as the great Game King was pulled around like a rag doll, he said in an extremely possessive voice, "Mine. Go find your own."

Holding his hands up in mock surrender, Ryou got to his feet and jogged off to rejoin the others, knowing that Yami wouldn't pursue this subject with him further.

"You're worried about him and his yami too?" Seto asked watching him leave.

Yami managed to pry himself away enough to remove his cheek from the coat and look up. "You know too huh? Yes, I thought a direct approach would be best but apparently I was wrong. Either way he doesn't want any interference despite Bakura's violence."

"And you are going to abide by his wishes and not interfere," the brunette said firmly. 

Yami shoved him away forcefully at that, standing a stride away and glaring at him. "How in the hell can I not?! I know what is going on and I doubt anyone else is going to help him unless one of us steps in. You know that Bakura will only respond to violence as well as I do," he shouted with a gesture behind him in the direction that the other had left in.

"But," Seto soothed gently but firmly, stepping forward and placing his hands on Yami's shoulders, not entirely sure how much contact he was permitted with this mood in place. "I will not have you getting hurt fighting another's battle. If Ryou actually asks for help, then I'll make a phone call and have some people blow the little freak into small particles. Then you can take pleasure in burning the remains yourself." 

Crimson eyes rolled with a growl. "You *know* it won't work like that."

"Nevertheless, you aren't doing anything. That baby in there is just as much mine as it is yours and you are not going to endanger it. Go off and get every bone in your body broken as many times and in as many ways as you like in a few months. Until then you're going to be good or encased in bubble-wrap," he replied in a voice that clearly stated that that was all non-negotiable. 

Feeling as well as seeing the tension bleed out of the shoulders in his palms, he stepped forward and held him to him properly, propping his chin on Yami's head and skimming his hands up and down the slender back.

"Working on my forgiveness already?" Yami mumbled into his chest earning a smirk from the taller boy.

"Like I really need to work for that," he replied with mirth before reaching a hand up and cupping Yami's chin, bringing his face up and lowering his own for a kiss. Allowing him entry instantly, Yami brought his own arms up about Seto. They continued this way for several minutes until a loud and rather false cough interrupted them.

Returning his head back to its former position of leaning against Seto's chest, Yami let his disapproval at having been interrupted show on his face, watching Joey with thinning patience for whatever he wanted to say. From the sound of the heart thudding in his ear he could deduce that Seto was equally pissed.

"Sorry ta break you guys up, really, but Yugi's asking for ya Yami. Wants to know that flavor ice-cream ya want," the blond trailed off scrubbing a hand through his hair, his elbow up against the tree Ryou had previously occupied the base of.

"Chocolate, triple if they have it," Seto replied for him without hesitation, unwinding his arms from around Yami and standing to his side, a hand coming up to the small of his back to lead him gently.

Glancing to Yami for confirmation before smirking, Joey nodded in an assuring manner before walker back to where the others obviously were. The pair followed, Seto's hand now having moved from the small of his back to wrap around the slight waist.

Placing his own hand over the larger one on his hip, Yami grinned up at him briefly, whether it was from his hand around his back or the prospect of chocolate ice-cream Seto couldn't be sure.

****

With a stomach full of double chocolate ice-cream, //no triple but made up for with sprinkles so no complaints// Yami was now officially in a brilliant mood. Lying on his back with his Aibou on one side and Seto on the other, the rest scattered around lounging in the sun as they digested their meals, he was pretty much in heaven.

"That's a bear," Yugi stated, raising a hand almost lifelessly up to point at the cloud just to the right of the point Yami had just been staring at.

Neither squinting at it nor tipping his head could make the white fluff-ball look like anything resembling a bear. "Aibou, I think you just have a strange obsession with bears. 

"I do not!" he shouted back indignantly.

"Right, which is why Kiara's room is full of bears of all shapes, sizes and colours, all due to your choosing," Seto replied evenly, eyes closed as he had chose not to participate in their game of cloud spotting.

"I just like them, that's all. I have not got an obsession."

"Alright. I think you're right though; that cloud does look like a bear," Yami conceded, looking up again at the cloud with a considering look, his brow furrowed in concentration. He even tipped his head to the side slightly to complete the look.

Yugi made a smug sound, crossing his arms across his chest and grinning.

"Only is doesn't have a head. See? That's it over there," he continued as he pointed to the left a bit.

Squealing in outrage, Yugi sat up sharply and thwacked Yami's chest with his hand, earning a loud laugh before he was attacked himself. Moving up and sitting on his legs, Yami began exerting the same 'punishment' that he had dished out on Ryou, Seto sitting up and watching the display laughing himself.

What could only be described as a fizzling twang in his abdomen made Yami pause, a hand going to the tingling flesh in confusion. The same feeling was coming from his soul room, probably why he could feel it in his body as well as his mind. Ignoring the searching looks from both Yugi and Seto, Yami snapped out a hand and curled his fingers around the Millennium Puzzle, feeling himself dropping into the familiar comfort of his soul room.

Immediately moving to his bed, he stepped up onto it and stared up at what he had figured was the source of the disruption. Glowering when he saw that it had grown in size from this morning, his eyes widened when it began to crack down the middle, the pulsating light coming off of it picking up in brightness and speed.

Taking an educated guess at what was happening, Yami began yelling rather pointlessly at the orb of light as it continued to split.

"Oh no. No-no, don't... Don't you fucking dare! Stoppit! Damn you! Damn you bloody ass-shit!"

Obviously it was ignoring him for now the orb of throbbing light had now divided into two orbs of throbbing light. Yami suddenly had the overwhelming urge to kill both Seto and himself, the former a lot slower and more painfully. //My body is not going to take this.//

Shuddering slightly despite himself when he felt a wave of confusion and concern flood through the walls of his soul room from Yugi, Yami gave the pair of orbs a final glare before bringing himself back into a physical manifestation.

Sitting on the grass opposite Seto and Yugi, the others approaching cautiously having figured that something was up, Yami gave Seto a rather firm glare before forcing it away. "Seto, get the car. We're going to Nyannichuan."

"Wha-why?"

"Because we are now having twins and I for one don't think my hips are going to deal with that very well. Sod comfort; I'd rather not have my kids tear me apart from the inside."

****

Despite the natural worry, Yami and Seto had joined the others in grinning like idiots all the way to the fountain at the news that their unique little family was now increasing by two. Seto was driving due to the lack of driver, something which was probably a bad thing with him being so distracted. Still, they reached the tourist attraction in record time and Yami was the first out of the car, obviously wanting to get the transformation done as fast as possible.

Getting out of the car at a slower pace to his, the others trailed after him; they knew the way due to having come here on likely too many occasions. Rounding the corner to the fountains themselves, they heard Yami before they actually saw him.

"What the hell do you mean 'it's dry'?!"

TBC

Yami: Hello! (Glances around then looks up at the ceiling) Hey! The deal was I wasn't on my own!

(Flash of light)

Bakura: What the fu-You!

Borath: Now-now, be nice. I've never dragged you into one of my fics like this before so just get on with it.

Yami: (Glaring at Bakura) Fine. Right, let's see. (Glances down at clipboard) Borath is happy about all the reviews and encourages more.

Bakura: Let me see that. (Snatches clip board) Oh this is boring! Let's just get onto spoilers.

Yami: In a minute. We have to hack into her computer for those anyway so we might as well go through this so as not to piss her off too much.

Bakura: (Grumbling) Fine. (Looks at list again) Updates are going to be every Friday again now. Yeah right, let's see how long that lasts. 

Yami: (Reading again) This has stars around it so it's important. The 'fountain gone dry' idea belongs to KEIKO who has been reviewing lots and sending lots of e-mails to Borath. Hugs are sent to her in response.

Bakura: She wasn't going to include that element; it was sent around Chapter 4 time. Now it's going in because Borath is being a sadistic bitch and tormenting Yami again. Way Hay!

Yami: (Glaring at Bakura and snatching clipboard back) Hmm, it actually says that and all.

Bakura: That's it for the list. Hey, we did that in half the space it would've taken her.

Yami: Well yeah. Borath rambles, we don't.

Bakura: Onto the spoilers!

(Flash of light and laptop appears. Is on already and they go straight into the appropriate file)

Yami: Wow. I'm not happy about that; I don't like shopping. Christ she's trying to kill me!

Bakura: I think it's funny. And she's going to let me hit-

Yami: Don't spoil it too much! (Looks at reader) A new plot-line has already been introduced and-

Bakura: It's with as much subtly as a club to the head.

(Lightning bolt comes down and strikes the ground at Bakura's toes. It's a warning because Borath fears the wrath of the fan-girls too much to actually hurt him)

Yami: Right. Anyway, the Bakura/Ryou element is going to hang around for a while. Ah, and for those of you who love yaioy-goodness you'll love Chapters 17 and 18. Which isn't finished yet. 

Bakura: (Looks over Yami's shoulder) That's disgusting.

Yami: (Smirking) You're just jealous because you're not getting any.

Bakura: Fuck off.

(Another warning lightning bolt)

Borath: Hey! I swear enough in the stories as it is! The reader does not need to read it from you two. And carry on with the spoilers because I reckon I'll get reviews for this...

Yami: (Shaking head) Ra, she's cheap. Moving on though...

Bakura: (Still at the laptop) Ooh, character death!

Yami: (Stares at screen) No! She would *not* do that! She couldn't!

Bakura: I reckon you might be right. Note says she doesn't know how she'll carry on after that so it may not be included. On the other hand she has some lame ideas of how to get away with it.

Borath: Actually I'm doing some research.

Bakura: She's reading other fics trying to pilfer ideas.

(Another warning lightning bolt)

Bakura: Hey that one was close!

Yami: Right, enough of this saga. Let's see what else is here.

(Flicks through a couple of files until he sees his name. Title is 'Submission')

Bakura: I'm getting the feeling that she really doesn't like you. 

Yami: She loves me! She just, likes to hurt me. 

Bakura: I like to hurt Ryou and I don't love him.

Yami: Thanks for that. I don't think the rating is right. It could be lower.

Bakura: She's just scared that she'll get flamed for it not being high enough. I'm happy with it.

Yami: You just want to disagree with me. Oh; another fic that's me-centric. Huh. It's not posted.

Bakura: Hmm, that'll get posted eventually I reckon. Too many fics are active here to even get to the middle of this one.

Yami: Then why the hell was she painting this morning instead of finishing all these random fics!

Bakura: Oh yeah. I think that's around here somewhere.

(Buggers off and comes back with A3 piece of watercolor paper, even though the picture is acrylic, holding it up so Yami can see too)

Yami: Cool! It's me!

Bakura: Correction; you in a dress with cleavage. Where did you get those legs?!

Yami: Told you she loves me. Hey, I look old!

Borath: I didn't like the idea of you being preggers at a young age.

Yami: But you did it.

Borath: Not in my head. (Grins smugly)

Bakura: Why hasn't Seto got the fountain on his lawn to throw you in when you change back to your usual tit-less self?

Yami: You are sick. And stop drooling!

Bakura: I'm sick? You're the one who's just slipped their calf and is going through it all again. You're the sick one.

Yami: Piss off.

Bakura: Hey, she's missing some of the golden bits of your fern.

Borath: Trial and error. They didn't look good.

Yami: Why am I holding a glass of wine?

Bakura: (Shrugs and grins) I dunno.

Yami: And why am I barefoot?! 

Bakura: (Grins more broadly) Dunno.

Yami: (Eyes getting very big now) And what am I sitting on?

Bakura: (Face splits in two with big grin) A love swing-OW!

Yami: (Puts down anime-mallet) Right, scanner access doesn't exist but one is being hunted down so this might be shared with the world eventually. I wonder if it-

Bakura: Nope. Fanfiction.net is only for fanfics, not fanart.

Yami: She could do a link.

Bakura: You really think her computer skills are that advanced? (Cringes expecting another lightning bolt. None comes)

Borath: (Shrugging) I agree. (Looks at reader) When it gets scanned in I'll send a 

copy to anyone who asks for one.

Yami: Aren't we dragging on now?

Bakura: I was watching television so can you put me back?

(Flash of light and Bakura is gone.)

Yami: Well, leave a review and let us know if you want us back rambling at the end of a chapter again. Until next time, toodles!

(Flash of light and Yami is gone too. Laptop is still humming away. Borath walks in and picks it up.)

Borath: Review me and make me a happy little writer.


	17. Reaction

Yami: (Grudgingly) I bid you welcome to this chapter in which I have been threatened into giving the author's notes for. See my joy.

Bakura: (Looking pissed off) It's short because Borath wanted a cliffhanger last time and it needed to be tied up. And Chapters 18 and 19 are so long and complicated that she's been working on them for two weeks and they are only just finished. 18 is up this Friday.

Yami: (Deadpanned) We're going shopping in them.

Bakura: (Deadpanned) Joy of joys.

Yami: Anyway (Consults clipboard), Borath is taking liberties and doing things her own way so stop whining about inconsistencies between the fic and the series.

Bakura: In English; she is saying 'fuck you' to the information given in the series and doing things her own way. For example sending Yami up the duff again.

Yami: Would you stop bringing that up! I'm barely coping as it is! It's-it's just wrong! (Casts eyes to the ceiling) You sacrilegious cow!

Bakura: (Looking impressed) As you have gathered the swearing aspect of this series is still firmly in place. (Looks down at his own clipboard) 'Since you all responded so well to the Seto/Yami action I will be maintaining that aspect in upcoming chapters. It wasn't properly written in until late because I didn't want to rush the pair.' Christ. How sappy is that? Everyone just wanted you two to start screwing as soon as possible in this bloody story. 

Yami: (Grinning) One of the few things I am happy about in the situation I have been dumped with. 

Bakura: Borath openly admits that the length of this chapter is pathetic but next week will make up for it and she apologizes.

Yami: And as for 'the spring of the drowned girl is in China', Borath has used her amazing authoress powers to pick up the spring and dumped it in Japan. She has also used said amazing powers to fuck around with my body and get me pregnant AGAIN so you can tell how happy I am being here.

Bakura: Going off track now. Right, last thing: A list of e-mail addresses is being compiled of all those who want to see this 'Yami-in-a-dress' picture, but don't hold your breath waiting for that.

Yami: Her scanner caught fire. You know, fire as in flames.

Bakura: With everyday occurrences such as this in her house it is little wonder that she is spouting this crap to you lot.

Yami: (Pulling the puppy-dog eyes) Please, save us from this insanity.

****

Chapter 17: Reaction

Freezing at the shouted statement, Seto saw that Yami was standing infront of a yellow barricade on the verge of brutally murdering the poor employee on the other side.   


"Answer me you fucking moron! How can the fountain be dry?!" Yami tried again, taking a menacing step forward so that his toes were against the plastic barrier. Even that wasn't going to save the man's life if he didn't get a satisfactory answer soon though.

"I-I'm sorry sir, but we don't know yet. We have a team of specialists looking at it now. We should know more later," the dark-skinned man stuttered, taking a step back when Yami leant forward on the barrier and clutched it with his hands. Apparently he was trying to break it with his bare hands.

"When did this happen?" he growled in what could barely be called a voice.

"Half-half an hour ago. The team was already here on a standard study day, so they got to work right away when the water, uh, stopped."

Whirling round knowing that he wouldn't be able to get anything worthwhile out of him now that he had reduced the man to such a state, Yami stalked back to where the others were hovering at a cautious distance.

"Yeah, we heard Yami. We could come back later when the spring is fixed," Honda suggested, unconsciously bringing his hands up in a partly soothing partly defensive gesture.

"I don't understand how it could be dry though. How the hell can it be dry?!" he asked, his voice raising again causing everyone to take a step backwards.

"Well how about that, Little Pharaoh? Just when you needed it, the spring inexplicably dries up," Bakura said oily, staring at Yami from beneath a hooded gaze, a smirk playing across his lips. Materializing at Ryou's side after having rode over here inside the Ring, the ex-Tomb Raider stood eerily still with his arms held slack at his sides.

Yami's crimson eyes narrowed as he picked up on a hidden meaning in those words. //What the hell did he do?// 

Fingering the Millennium Ring about his neck, the platinum-haired boy dropped his gaze before dragging it slowly back up Yami's form, smirking openly now that he saw that Yami had begun to fully realize what had happened.

"These Items of ours are a lot more powerful then people give them credit for."

He would have said more if Yami hadn't dived for his throat, getting a pretty good grip on it too before Joey and Honda pried his hands off whilst Seto and Yugi pulled him back by his waist.

Crossing his arms conceitedly as it seemed Yami's friends had assured his personal safety, Bakura wasn't prepared for the fist that connected solidly with his chin. Falling in a heap on the ground, he vaguely realized that they were just protecting Yami from injury by hitting him themselves before he passed out.

Joey turned to face Tea with raised eyebrows. "Tea, I'm impressed! I had no idea you could deck someone like that!"

Cradling a very sore hand, Tea gave a small smile before looking to Yami who looked quite capable of murder then. "Oh thanks. Deprive me that pleasure," he grumbled whilst shrugging out of Yugi and Seto's hands.

He would have had a go at cracking Bakura's skull open on the pavement but he disappeared back into the Ring before he had the chance, only causing to infuriate him further. The group giving him a respectable amount of space as he started back to the car, Seto wincing as he sent a solid kick into the door-panel which left an impressive dent before he got inside, slamming it shut behind him.

The others held back waiting for him to cool Yami down a little, or at least to the degree where it was safe to be in a small space with him and his temper. Sighing and mentally checking that his Will was fully written up, Seto opened the door of the car and slid in beside him.

Sitting with his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees, Yami looked the picture of a foul mood, glowering at the seat opposite him as if the dry-spring was all it's fault.

Placing an arm in the center of his back and rubbing it in firm circles, he was relieved to hear Yami exhale in an exasperated sigh. "So, how would you kill Bakura?"

Snorting with amusement, the tri-haired teen flopped back in the seat, his eyes still fixed on the seat. "After throttling him... By Ra, what luck do we have?" 

"I dunno, it keeps things interesting. We can never complain that life gets boring, can we?"

"I suppose not. Joey's right, as strange as that is to say that; we can come back when the fountain's back to normal. The going plan was to stay in this form until it became uncomfortable anyway."

"Well I'm sure you'll be able to tell when the time has come. Now turning to the matter of your mood; would you be happier if I promised to make you *extremely* comfortable later?"

"Is that all you think about?"

"Do you mind?"

Thinks for a millisecond. "Nope. I think your attentions will actually be required. But I still want to harm, maim or kill Bakura."

"If Ryou doesn't want you interfering with what's going on between them then I'm sure that he wouldn't want you killing his yami either. Personally I'd like to tape his demise and have it played around the world for all to see and celebrate, but that's just me."

Shaking his head and marveling at how trivial the conversation had suddenly turned, Yami twisted so that his head was against Seto's chest, curling his legs up on the seat behind him. 

"So. Are you going to be improving my mood now or are you getting to let me simmer for a bit?"

"Decisions, decisions."

"Those windows are one-way right? I could get out and kick the other door in so the others will leave us alone for a while."

"Do you always find it necessary to put so much thought into these things?"

"Damn straight I do."

"Alright. I'll wait here."

Opening the door, Yami slipped back on the expression that best befitted the Devil himself and stalked around the car. Shouting and cursing a fair bit, mostly at Seto through the panels, he sent a booted foot into the bumper and then came back round to the open door and slid back inside. Smiling smugly at Seto, he arched an eyebrow waiting for a response.

Shaking his head with mirth Seto looked out of the window to check on the positions of the rest of the group. "Well that worked well; I can't even see them."

Turning his head back to face Yami he jumped slightly to find that they were now nose to nose, crimsons eyes smoldering into his with an intensity that was actually a little frightening. He didn't have the chance to make a sly comment his mouth was covered so fast.

Climbing into his lap, Yami broke away long enough to swear about the roof being too low to be feasible before roughly shoving Seto down across the length of the seat. 

"Aggressive now, aren't we?" the brunette commented in amusement as the other climbed into his lap again. Scowling at the fact that Seto was talking, Yami nipped disapprovingly at his bottom lip before attacking him again. 

Things were just starting to get interesting when a dull thumping sound above them interrupted them.

"Hey Kaiba? Are you alright? Yami didn't kill ya did he?" 

Right then Seto was quite capable of going back to his old state of mind of wanting to harm Joey, especially since Yami seemed to be ignoring the interruption and attacking the soft skin on his throat.

"Yami! Stop it! I didn't lock the door!" he hissed urgently.

Apparently the Game King was *not* going to be deterred.

"Kaiba? Look, just say you're okay! Yami was pretty pissed an-"

Admittedly concerned Joey had made the foolish mistake of opening the door, getting an eyeful and then slamming it shut again. Leaning against the car as he faced the others, he grinned in an assuring manner

"He's fine. But I kinda have the feeling we're gonna need ta get a cab back."

TBC

Borath: Christ I am *so* sorry! It's sparrow's fart o'clock here and it's just too late to write any real yaio-goodness. Next chapter will be a totally different story though as Yami has, get this, double the amount of hormones as last time, as he puts it, possible exaggeration but that's half the fun, and is in no mood to be declined. Storage rooms can be wonderfully useful at times, can't they? 

Yup, I am taking the gang to the Mall next. I'm British so that is a little foreign to me but it was appropriate. They have Malls in Japan, right? Don't know don't care. It will be mostly insanity and the going plot will go flying rather spectacularly out of the proverbial window but hey, that's the best kind of fic isn't it?!

Until next time I bid you a good night. Or morning as it is here with my insomnia and caffeine-hyper mind... Actually the next chapter might be a little scary because I'm writing it in this state...

Yami: (Purple with his anime mallet.) YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!!! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!

Bakura: Eep. (Running away very fast.)


	18. Shopping Part 1

Borath: Ah, swearing, insanity and yaio.  All you need for a good chapter.  And even more great news; my sarcastic streak has suddenly exploded here so please enjoy it while it lasts!  Not as funny as it could be but my humour streak has kinda died since I've been doing too many serious fics.  Ah well.  Effort counts right?

Yami: I'd like to go on record that I am not happy with this at all.

Bakura: I second that.  

Yami: Figured I should explain this to you before you get to it in this chapter and end up with a big, glowing question make above your heads.  You know those sweet dispensers that are square in shape and you lift the flap at the front and take the contents out with a scoop or your hand?  Yes?  Okay, bear that image in mind when you read about Bakura's battle...

Bakura: Shut up about that.  At least I can hit my Aibou in this.

Yami: Who won in the fight against the sweet dispenser again?

Bakura: You're one to talk.  You couldn't win in a battle with your clothes!

Yami: Bastard.

Bakura: Fat.

(Loud banging noise and then what sounds like the hum and buzz of a lightsabre.  Borath blinks with the reader.) 

Borath: Right, Yami's thoughts are in //-//s, his 'mental chats' with Yugi down their bond are in '-'s and other people's thoughts are either typed with a 'he/she thought' or '-'.  Possibly a little too complicated for some of you but I'll type the meanings just the same.  

Enjoy this chapter as it sorta 'sets the stage' for next week.  I was going to post this and that one as one whole chapter but when the length reached and passed 15 pages I figured dividing it up was probably a good idea.  Keeps you reviewing too...

And to Yugi's Girl; I didn't use your 'Bakura dried up the spring' idea without thanking you.  I'd posted the chapter before I read the review.  STOP CREEPING AROUND MY BRAIN PEOPLE!!!

Chapter 18: Shopping 

YVO

//Urgh.  I'm only two months into this and I already feel like I've been run over and chewed out.  Twice.  Stupid Curse.  Seto's swan-ing around being oh-so smug about his amazing child-producing powers to the extent that I want to claw his eyes out, and Yugi's hyper again.  Why is this such a joyous thing?  Why?

Fine, after nine months you have a wonderful, chubby little human being which fills you with much happiness and love.  Until that time said little human being is something unspeakably demonic that has taken residence in your gut, causing your body to rebel in every possible way when it feels displeased.  And when it does decide to make its appearance into the world it makes a damn-good attempt at tearing you in half!

Now, being male with the fucking-fountain still dry, the thought of the upcoming birth does actually make me cringe in horror and some rather unsavory mental images come to mind.  Said mental images have actually gotten me up in the middle of the night screaming and in a cold sweat.  

Seto has now joined me in vigorously hoping that Nyannichuan fills with water again very soon, mainly because he is getting sick of waking up on the verge of a coronary when I start shouting at one am.  Alright, so he's starting to look a little run down but I'm the one who can't eat before eleven in the morning because it makes a return trip.  I voiced as much one particularly colourful night expecting some kind of comfort from my bad-mate.

*He* had the nerve to glare at me and roll over muttering about my hormones!

Insensitive prick.//

****

"You are just the cutest little thing, aren't you?  Yes you are. Yes you are."

Now, if these words were uttered in any house containing a baby in anywhere else in the world, they wouldn't even be blinked at.  Cooed in the Kaiba Mansion however and you'd think someone had been sniffing something narcotic and was talking to a full-length mirror.  That's what Mokuba thought anyway.

Peeking round the edge of the doorframe, he rose an eyebrow up into his scruffy fringe, marveling at how his brother was leant over the edge of the crib talking to his daughter.  Flicking what appeared to be a plush, pink rabbit at her nose, one of the few cuddly toys that she owned that wasn't a bear, the elder Kaiba brother seemed to be fully engrossed in what he was doing.

Smiling fully now, Mokuba continued down the hallway to where he knew Yami was, some quiet cursing verifying that fact.  He was heading out for the day with Yugi and wanted to let them know before he left.  Since Seto was occupied, telling Yami seemed the logical course of action.

Stepping into the shared bedroom, he frowned and glanced about the dimly lit room searching for its occupant.  Hearing more curses from the direction of the wardrobe, and some tell-tale clothes flying around in the same area, he cautiously approached until he could make out what Yami was saying.

"Stupid leather-obsession.  Why do I not own anything with an elastic waist-band?  And why did you two decided to suddenly grow overnight?  Are you actually trying to make my life difficult?  If you are, you're doing a damned good job of it."

"Pants not fitting again?" Mokuba asked innocently, perching on the edge of the freshly-made bed and swinging his legs against the over-hanging quilt.

Turning away from the abyss that was the wardrobe, Yami sat on his heels facing him bundled up in an overly large robe.  He was going to have to move his to the other side of the room so he'd stop getting the two mixed up every morning, particularly since Seto had started telling him he looked cute in it. The Game King did *not* do 'cute'.

"No.  I think I'm going to have to take your brother's credit card again, despite the fact that I despise shopping," he said running a hand through his hair, already mentally grimacing at the prospect of endless queues, changing rooms, checkouts...  

"Want me to come with?  We need a few things around here and Yugi was saying the other day about how he wanted a tent.  We could all go."

Yami frowned slightly.  "Yugi wants a tent?"  //How didn't I know that?  When did I stop knowing things like that?//

"Yeah.  You know, so he can go camping with Joey, Honda and the rest.  I was gonna ask Seto for one too but he might say no so I thought-"

"That because I have him wrapped round my little finger I could get him to get one for you?"

Mokuba nodded, seemingly pleased that Yami had grasped the idea so quickly.  "Hey! It's Saturday so he should stay off work today.  Maybe he could come too?"

Smiling at the idea of being accompanied to the Mall Yami grinned.  "I'm sure he will.  You go phone the others and ask them to meet us there in about two hours.  The Sitter's in Spain today so Kiara will have to come with us, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Not waiting for Yami to finish anything else he might happen to say, Mokuba leaped off the bed shouting 'Big Brother!' repeatedly, scurrying down the hallway to the nursery.  

//If all three of my kids are as hyperactive as that I'll need to go into the Puzzle for another Millennia to recover.//

****

Much to Yami's pleasure everyone had turned up for the trip to the Mall, all stating that they needed some item or other and happy that they could have company whilst sifting through wracks of clothing and standing in tediously slow lines at the checkout. 

Joey was thick enough to start chanting 'Yami got fat!' as soon as he was in earshot, shutting up instantly at the death glare the ex-Pharaoh gave him.  Seto pulled him to the side and told him something in a low voice, something in which the word 'hormones' was mentioned much to Yami's displeasure, and Joey said nothing like that again for hours.

After scanning the map to deduce where everything was and where everyone was going to be, they all decided to split up into small groups for a few hours to get the odds'n'sods before they met up again to tackle the larger stores.

Ryou and Bakura were going into the food store, mostly for sweets and other non-healthy substances.  And watermelon because Yami wanted it. Honda and Mokuba were going to the arcade because they didn't need anything that couldn't be fetched later when they were all back together, and neither of them want to go in any clothes shops if it could be helped.

This left Yami, Seto, Mai, Joey and Tea in the largest clothes shop, sifting through various items and the men generally acting like zombies. The women were in their element, scurrying off to sort out Yami's clothes' problems for him and telling him not to worry about a thing.

Bored out of his mind, Joey decided to make his own entertainment....  

Seto and Yami had been toying with a few garments on one long row of trousers for a good twenty minutes after Tea and Mai left, Yami whining about how they were all long-leg and Seto trying not to laugh because he knew Yami would punch him.  

Hearing Kiara begin to clap her hands and gurgle in loud amusement, they exchanged confused looks before they both turned to see Joey doing something very, very strange.  

He had the metal hook of a coat hanger in his mouth, holding the 'arm's of the object with one hand and flailing his free arm around wildly at his side.  Scurrying around in circles, his eyes were wide and he was shouting rather inarticulately around the hook in his cheek.

"What am I?!  What am I?!"

They both gave a collective blink as he continued, restraining themselves rather forcefully from stating that he was an immature little freak right then.  

After a long silence Joey stopped and looked at them in exasperation, the coat-hanger coming down from his face and hanging between two fingers at his side.

"God, I was a *fish*!  You guy's are so slow," he huffed before walking away out of sight between the racks of clothing, heading directly towards the exit through which the arcade was visible.  Another collective blink before they turned back to what they had been looking at previously, trying very hard to pretend that that had not just happened.

Kiara was still applauding his performance.

****

"Aw man! Darth always gets me there!" Honda exclaimed, slamming his hands either side of the arcade game in frustration.  Shoving his hands back into his pockets as the cheery music began playing and the opening display popped back up on the screen, he groaned in exasperation when he found a complete lack of loose change.

"Mokuba?  You got any change left?" he shouted across the dim room.  When a black-haired kid came scurrying back, mouth open to ask exactly the same question, it become evident that his funds had also been depleted.

"So what do you want to do now?  I don't wanna look at clothes or anything like that," Mokuba whined, Honda nodding empathetically in agreement.

"I dun-hey look!  It's Joey!"

The blond came to a stop from his jog at their toes, beaming at each of them expectantly.

"No.  We don't have any change.  If you have any bright ideas as to what to do now though we'd be happy to hear them," Honda stated flatly, watching as Joey's face fell, only briefly though.

"Alright, how about a game of Duel Monsters?"

"Yeah, but we need to bet summut or it isn't going to be interesting."

Mokuba reached a hand into his back pocket as the two taller teens stared at each other in silence, obviously trying to figure out what stakes they could make against each other.

"Hey you guys?  I found this on the Internet last night and it's kinda good so could we use this?" he offered, holding up the slip of paper for them to see.

Both teens glanced down the page and smiled, looking to each other in a rather suspicious way as each imagined the other performing those tasks.  

"Right.  The loser has ta do everything on dat list," Joey agreed, poking a finger at the paper in Honda's hand.

"Sounds good.  Mokuba, keep a-hold of this while we play," he instructed handing the paper back down to the smaller boy who grinned in a truly evil way.

This was going to be so much fun.

****

"Well I'm all done," Ryou stated to himself as he folded the top of the paper bag down.  Frowning when he heard a long string of Egyptian curses from the other side of the row of plastic sweet dispensers.

Walking around the end he watched with unhindered amusement as Bakura engaged one plastic dispenser in full-fledged battle.  Kicking the bottom and then thumping the top hard, Ryou was very surprised that the plastic wasn't cracked. 

"Give me my shrimp!" the Tomb Raider screamed at it, giving up temporarily and stepping back to glare at it viciously.

"Is there a problem Yami?" Ryou asked innocently.

Bakura turned on him with a glare but his hatred for the sweet cabinet outweighed his annoyance at his Hikari.  Jabbing a menacing finger at it, he stepped aside for Ryou to see.

The main part of the clear compartment was empty but on the top in the storage area there were four small pink shrimp-sweets sitting mockingly against the plastic.  As the 'roof' of the main compartment was sloped it was impossible to reach in and grab them, and kicking it obviously hadn't helped in moving the sweets that Bakura so desperately wanted.

"It appears that you will just have to have something else," he shrugged.

After clipping him upside the head, Bakura went back to shouting at the four little shrimp-sweats.  "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BEAT ME!!!"

Giving his psychotic and now severely pissed yami some extra space, Ryou moved away holding the back of his head pressing his hand against the ache that was forming there.  That was certainly going to be an impressive bump.

That tiny little thing that surprisingly enough even Bakura possessed called patience withered to nothing then and he lunged forward and shoved his fingers either side of the shrimps' compartment.  Unfortunately there was another box of sweets on top of it and one beneath it, all separate which meant they fell away from each other as the middle section was so effectively removed by Bakura.

Now, the pissed, psychotic Tomb Raider was stood trying to hold up two plastic compartments in a very awkward position whilst the third, which was full, pressed against his legs threatening to move him to the floor.  "Aibou!  Damnit help!"

"Do you really want my help Yami?"  Now, Ryou was well aware of the fact that Bakura would likely remove his ability to see for this but it was just too much fun; he could not pass up this unique opportunity.

"Would get your ass over here and help me?!"

"Oh, I don't know.  You look like you have everything under control," he laughed.

Bakura gave him a glare that just spelled out Death in explicit detail.  "Help me now or I will make sure you will never be able to eat again without the aid of a straw."

Not that was pretty good incentive.  

Lifting up the box on top of the one Bakura was holding, he watched in dismay as he stepped away with his prize causing the box underneath to fall free and scatter its contents all over the floor.  Not noticing, Bakura lifted the box high above his head before slamming it down, screaming in fury when the plastic didn't even crack.

Snarling, he picked it back up and tucked it under his arm, resigned to carry the whole thing out of the store.  A bored voice from the heavens stopped him in mid-step though, his eyes darting around in pure terror.

"Clean up.  Isle six."

Frozen, he turned slowly with his gaze on the ceiling.  "Oh shit.  The Gods are going to punish me.  Come on woman, we're leaving now."

Sighing in exasperation and rolling his eyes, Ryou tried to explain to his near-hysterical yami what was going on.  "It's alright!  That isn't the Gods!"

If anything Bakura's cold eyes got even wider.  "This place is possessed?!"

Dropping the box containing the shrimp-sweets he made a beeline for the door, leaping over small children like hurdles and shoving through the people he couldn't in his bid for safety.  Ryou followed at a much more leisurely pace knowing that he would likely be blamed for leading Bakura into a 'possessed' store and be punished accordingly.

It was worth it though.  Stepping outside he wondered idly if the manager would sell him the security tape of that whole incident.

****

"You lose, as usual."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, here's your list.  One other thing; you can't tell anyone what you're doing or why."

"Fine.  Looks like I'll have ta do all this stuff in the last store; it's the only place that has all these things."

"Good, then everyone can watch."

"Oh Christ."

****

An hour later the group had regrouped by the fountain and they were now in the biggest store at the end of the Mall, a huge two story area that sold a multitude of things.  There was a sports department that Yugi was currently in, A DIY section, a house-wares department, more clothing, that area was being avoided like the plague, and an auto department.

Honda and Mokuba were following Joey around, who looked pissed off, in a very suspicious manner.  Mai and Tea were clothes shopping, again, but a new development was that they had taken Kiara with them.  They insisted that she needed new clothes and had taken her out of Yami's possession and disappeared into the mess of wracks and stacks of clothing.

At the moment they were thumbing through a rack of baby-shirts, cooing over the ones with pink bunnies on the, of which there were many, and generally tearing up over the material that was heavenly soft to touch.  Kiara was blowing spit bubbles at their feet.

They both screamed out in surprise when a familiar blond head popped out of the clothes rack they were just about to move onto, the teen's arms spread wide as he exploded from the pastel-coloured garments.

"PICK ME! PICK ME!"

And then he was gone, jogging to the other side of the clothing area and hiding himself inside another row of clothing to repeat the action again.  On his way over to taking his place to surprise his next victim he passed Honda and Mokuba who were almost doubled over with laughter, leaning onto each other as they wept.

Exchanging strange looks, Mai and Tea shrugged and went back to the clothes.  Finally finding something they both approved of (Pink with a rabbit on it), they tore it off the hanger and knelt down to dump it over Kiara's head.

Only there was no Kiara.

Mia turned slowly to face Tea, the shirt in her hands now unfelt.  "Oh shit.  We lost Yami's kid."

TBC

Borath: The stage is set so next chapter can only hold mayhem.

Bakura: (With a belt-fed weapon pointed at his head as 'encouragement') Also, next week you'll see me traumatised and twitchy around the intercom.

Yami: (Also with the barrel of a gun at his temple) And you'll see how I end up locked in a closet with Seto.  (Looks up at ceiling) I can't believe you let them lose my kid.

Borath: I'm evil.  

Bakura: A girl after my own heart.

Borath: Review!

//THE FOLLOWING IS A STUPID THING THAT I THOUGHT I'D ADD.  DON'T ASK WHERE IT CAME FROM OR WHY BUT I HOPE YOU HAVE A GIGGLE.  IT'S A CONVERSATION AFTER YAMI AND BAKURA COME BACK FROM GOING SHOPPING/STEALING...  EVEN I WONDER WHAT I WAS ON WHEN I WROTE THIS.//

Bakura: (Incredulous) You dropped it!

Yami: (Dumping shopping bags on floor) Well I was being run over by the riot squad!

Bakura: Well two wrongs don't make a right.  That's no excuse to smash a television set.

Yami: (Smiling soothingly) Still, at least we got the duck.  (Holds up plastic rubber duck.  Yellow.  Kinda cute)

Bakura: (Staring) The duck?

Yami: Yeah. (Looks a bit excited) It's made out of plastic. 

Bakura: (Struggling not to hurt, maim or kill Yami.) What, in the name of Greek buggery, is the use of a plastic duck?

Yami: It floats in the bath.  

Bakura: But why?

Yami: (Frowns slightly) It's hollow.

Bakura: (Closes eyes and counts to ten.  Once again in Egyptian for variety) But why the duck?

Yami: (Grinning) It came free with the telly.

Bakura: (Pissed off) We were looting!  Why didn't you get a free telly with the telly?!

Yami: (Getting angry at Bakura's stupidity) Well it would sink in the bath!!!

Borath: Sorry...


	19. Shopping Part 2

Yami: Before you say it, we're both as confused as you are at the last chapter.

Bakura: Hopefully this will be readable.  If not an explanation is pegged on at the end.

Borath: (Looking miffed) The yami's formed a union so I can't torment them as much when opening my fics.

Yami & Bakura: (Big smiles)

**Chapter 19: Shopping 2**

Yami and Seto had left Yugi to hunt around the different types of tents on his own some time ago, now simply wandering around the shop aimlessly as everyone else sis their own thing.  They had passed Bakura and Ryou a few minutes ago, the former looking extremely pale and shaky and the latter trying to be comforting.  He got thwaped repeatedly as a result of his efforts.

Yami wandered away from Seto for a second leaving the elder Kaiba brother on his own in the middle of isle.  Glancing around he briefly caught a glimpse of his brother's unruly black hair poking around the corner of a shelf before a loud and distinct humming caught his attention.  It got louder, the sound directly behind him and causing him to turn to face it as a result, before it got quiet again.  Watching the end of the isle intently now, he heard the humming start up again as whoever was making the noise got closer to him.

"Dun-dun, dun dun dun-dun, dun dun dun-dun..."

It was undoubtedly the theme-music from Mission Impossible, and the fact that Joey darted across the end of the isle he was facing humming it loudly, eyes looking around suspiciously, just made the situation even weirder.  Deciding not to dwell on the insanity of the blond for fear of sending his own mind over the edge, Seto turned to ask Yami's opinion of what had just happened.

Sighing tiredly when he couldn't see him, Seto began making his way back down the isle, looking both ways when he reached the end of the shelves and saw Yami apparently trying to take the door off of the wall to his left.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a confused frown, seeing Yami's exasperation as he slowly realised that, from the way the door wasn't moving, it might be locked.

Kicking the door for good measure before turning to face Seto, Yami strolled towards him with a dipped head, knowing smirk and a definite swing to his hips which made it pretty bloody obvious what he was doing.  Shaking his head and taking a safe step backwards, Seto swallowed heavily at the approach and brought his hands up against the other.

"No.  Not a chance, not in a shop like this, no way Yami," he protested, taking yet another step back before Yami's boots ended up on his toes to stop him walking.

Leaning in close to his face crimson eyes blazing, Yami growled out in a low voice, "I have double the amount of hormones as last time: Do not even try and stop me."

Feeling the heat coming off of the other body Seto knew that he wasn't going to win this argument, nodding slightly which meant he could feel his toes again as Yami stepped off of him.  Motioning for him to walk on, Yami followed Seto with a predatory gaze, fists knotting in his jacket pockets as he picked up his pace.

//Alright, so not all my hormones are that bad.//

****

Over in the Auto Department there was a crackle of static over the speakers before a voice that really sounded like it wanted to be at home watching television spoke.  "Clean up in House-wares.  Repeat: Clean up in House-wares."

This bored voice sent Bakura to his knees clutching his head and trembling violently.  He was a little twitchy right now after the 'possessed-store' incident.  Feeling a pang of sympathy for him Ryou crouched down next to him and put a comforting arm around the trembling shoulders.

His action was rewarded by a sharp elbow in the ribs before Bakura rose to his feet and stood over him, fierce eyes practically setting his skin on fire as they relayed just how pissed-off he was.

"If you do that one more time I will shove your head up your ass.  Then you'll spend the rest of your miserable life wandering around on all fours looking for the light-switch."

Point taken, the winded Ryou nodded slightly and watched his Dark stalk off, his eyes glancing around nervously around every corner before he passed them.  Apparently seeing something he stopped and stared for a few seconds before cackling sadistically.

Fearing that he had seen something like a hamster being nailed to the wall Ryou shakily stood and made his way over to his counterpart.  Standing at his side extremely curious about what would have his yami this cracked up, he followed his gaze and his own breath caught.

Standing in the middle of a carpeted area that shelved all of the little anonymous mechanic things was Joey.  Only now he was holding two plastic green funnels over his chest and striking poses.  Glancing down and shaking his head he chucked the two funnels into the growing pile a few feet away and picked up two slightly larger ones, these orange in colour.  Striking more poses, it was fairly obvious that Joey was perfecting his Madonna look.

There was another tell-tale crackle over the speakers causing Bakura to cringe, and strangely for Joey to toss the funnels to the side and glance around himself.  Then, when the speaker announced that someone needed to go and clean up Joey's mess the teen dropped onto the floor and curled in a foetal position, hands clawing over his face and body trembling with an intensity that could only be faked.

"NO! NO! It's those voices again" he fairly screamed, distracting Bakura enough to bring him out of his terrified state on his knees and look over at him.

"He's lost it," Ryou announced in a deadpan-tone, glancing down at his yami to see if his assistance was needed, if still unwanted.

"For once I'm going to agree with you."

****

Three doors down and all were locked.  Seto could tell that Yami was going to pin him to the floor and tear his clothes off of him regardless of who was around pretty soon, something which spurred him to get pretty violent with all the doors they encountered and found locked.

Yami had both his hands in his hair now, breath coming between clenched teeth as he walked, something that was getting pretty uncomfortable now.  It was rapidly dawning that this particular hormone explosion was going to be just as damnable and difficult to cope with as any other he had experienced.  //I am going to start murdering the store-employees for the keys to these doors soon.//

Lost in his own blood-rush as he was he didn't notice Tea until he smashed into her, landing rather painfully on his backside and remaining there when he noticed that she was glancing around herself rather suspiciously.

"What are you doing?" he asked in as normal a voice as he could manage.  To his despair it came out rather strangled.

Tea's eyes darted to his, an eyebrow arching as she noticed his flushed and squirming state.  "I could ask you the same question," she replied quickly.

"Nothing."

"Me neither then."

It was pretty obvious that they had reached a truce there.  Coherent thought returning for a few fleeting seconds Yami frowned at her, glancing around quickly before returning his gaze to hers.  

"Where's Kiara?"

"M-Mai has her," Tea said extremely fast before flashing him a very forced and very non-assuring smile and running off past him.

Groaning when he found that he couldn't actually get up, Yami gave a half-shout to Seto to help before returning his hands to their former position of being in his hair.  Pulling hard he tried to use the pain as a distraction, failing miserably.  Glaring at Seto when he finally appeared, he allowed himself to be lifted to his feet before driving him into the shelves.

Yelping under the onslaught, Seto shoved the Game King away from him rather roughly, standing watching him warily from the other side of the isle.  Glaring at him, Yami clenched his hands into fists before driving out the words from between his teeth.  "Keep.  Looking."

****

Yugi's eyebrows were in his hairline when he stepped back from the fifteenth tent that he had looked at, or more precisely the price of the fifteenth tent he had looked at.  Looking around himself to see if any of the other material domes caught his fancy he briefly caught sight of Joey streaking across the carpet into the Department, tearing the doorway of a dark blue tent open and diving inside.

Approaching with an appropriate degree of caution, Yugi opened the doors of the tent and went to peer inside.  Joey's head popped out before he could though, the material being jerked out of Yugi's fingers as he clutched it around his neck tightly preventing Yugi from so much as seeing inside.

"You can only come in if you bring a pillow," he said seriously.  

At Yugi's blank look he blinked and receded back inside, the zip of the tent-door going up to seal himself inside.  Eyes wide, the tri-haired boy decided that it was probably not a good idea to even try and figure out what the hell Joey was doing, or what he had been sniffing, and walked away from the ten quickly and quietly.

For 'Twas not safe to be near the blond one right now.

****

Tea was near to tears when she saw Mai approaching her with a definite lack-of-baby in her arms.  "Nothing?"

The taller girl shook her head sadly, genuine fear in her eyes.  "As terrible as it is to say it, I'm actually more worried about what Yami and Seto will do to us than Kiara."

"I think we need to get more people looking for her; we can't find her on our own in a place this big."

"You're right," Mai admitted.  "I guess we'll have to tell them.  Any idea where they are?"

"Yami was just coming out of the House-wares Department when I last saw him, but I think it'll be a little trickier to find them both now."

"Why's that?"

"Yami's randy."

"Oh."

****

"Finally!"

The word came out as more of an giddy squeal when Seto found the one and only door in the entire store that was actually unlocked.  Unfortunately, it was also the broom closet.

Not that Yami cared, evident by the violent shove in Seto's back before he stepped inside the small space too and shut the door behind him.  Plunged into complete and utter darkness now, Seto touched numerous items that he seriously wanted identified as he squirmed around, knowing when he was facing Yami when his mouth was covered almost desperately.

Submitting instantly, he brought his hands down blindly to support his weight when he felt Yami's hands brace on his shoulders as he lifted himself off of the ground, slender legs locking around his waist.  Feeling Yami's fingers wrestling with his belt, numerous curses filled the air between them as his actions proved futile and Seto got irritated quickly with having his fashion sense insulted, clamping his mouth down over Yami's partially just to shut him up.

Pulling away when Yami stopped fumbling, he wrapped his right arm around his waist entirely to hold him up and to him as his left sorted out the matter of his clothing.  "Impatient little thing, aren't you love?"

He got a firm nip on his jaw-line before a response came through the dark.  "Shut up."

Not wanting to incite anything in such a small space, Seto willingly obliged Yami's every whim.

****

"Joey! Have you seen-what the hell are you doing?"  Tea shouted across the space separating them, Mai firmly at her side.

The blond looked up from the twelve-bore shotgun he held in both his hands, his face that of someone who was extremely tired of what they were doing now.  "Sorry Tea, I can't say."

Looking back from her, he whistled and waved over the sales assistant who came to his side instantly, eager for something to do other than wandering around aimlessly.

"Where do you keep your anti- depressants?" he asked seriously, still handling the large weapon as he watched the other man.  The assistant appeared quite flustered and his hands were twitching in a way that indicated that he desperately wanted to take the gun off of the teen before even daring to answer that question.

Frowning at the scene, something moved in the corner of Mai's vision and she turned to see what it was.  Seeing Honda and Mokuba, red faced from restraining their laughter so forcibly, was not quite what she expected.

"What is going?" she demanded, looking from the dubious pair to where Joey was scaring the assistant and back again.

"Joey's making a prat of himself," Honda explained through pants of restrained hysterics.

"Well we can see that!  Wh-nevermind.  Have you seen Yami?" 

"Yeah, he and Big Brother were in the Auto Department a few minutes ago. Why?  Where's Kiara?" Mokuba asked, noticing for himself that his niece was somewhat missing.

"That's why we need to find them!  Look, can you just help us by finding Kiara whilst we tell Yami and Seto what's happened?" Mai pleaded, quite unlike her usual proud self.

"You know that you won't come back from saying that alive."

"We know, but it'll be a longer death if we don't find her soon.  God knows what might have happened to her!  What if Bakura's found her?!"

****

Opening his eyes to the ever-present darkness Seto shifted his hands and adjusted Yami's temporarily sated form in his lap.  At the moment he was sat on what felt like the janitor's bucket, the rim of the damned thing digging into the back of his thighs in a most unpleasant way.  He wasn't 'distracted' now so the prickling pain was shifting into his attention, as well as the realisation that they had been inside this closet for a fair bit of time now.

Trying to encourage some life into Yami by shaking him, he knew that if they didn't move soon someone could discover them and likely the others were going to start getting suspicious if they didn't make an appearance.  The subtle method failed miserably though, moving him to speak.

"Yami?" he whispered, not knowing if anyone was outside or not.

"Hmm?" came the drowsy response, signalling to Seto's despair that Yami's brain was still quite vacant from his skull.

"Com on, pull yourself together!  We have to get out before a clerk comes," he hissed trying to get the urgency of the situation through into the Game King's addled brain.  

"No.  Sleep.  You can carry me if you want," Yami mumbled into his throat.

"I can't exactly pick you up if you're straddling me, not to mention the fact that I don't think I have the strength to pick you up right now."

There was a grumbling acceptance into his neck that made the skin of his throat tingle and resisting the urge for a repeat of what had just transpired, Seto moved one of his hands from Yami's hip and pushed the door gently.  He was hoping to open it a crack to see if it was clear outside so they could get out, however the wood didn't budge under his fingers, forcing him to shove a little harder.

"Um, Yami?"

"Hmm?"

"You're not going to believe this, but the door's locked on the outside."

"Likely story.  I reckon you're just being affected by my presence and, proximity," Yami replied in the darkness, shifting purposefully in Seto's lap to convey his point.

"No!  I really can't open the door!"

"Oh fuck."

"No Yami!  This is a real problem!"

"I didn't mean-oh sod it.  So what do we do?"

"Well you can get off me for a start because this bucket is really starting to dig into my ass."

"It was an experience."  It was pitch black but Seto was positive that a shrug had accompanied that statement.

"Yes, but now we have the tiny problem of being stuck here.  Can you call Yugi for help?"

"And give him the satisfaction of seeing me like this?  Not bloody likely."

"It's that or we're going to switch positions because I'm starting to go numb in places now."

'Yugi?  Help?'

****

It took a few minutes for Yugi to make his way to the correct department and a few more to even find where Yami said that he was locked in.  Under strict instructions that if he so much as smirked after releasing them both that he would be thrown to Bakura, Yugi turned the door handle and opened the door to their prison.

Yami had apparently had his back to the door because he landed on his rear as Seto moved out as swiftly as possible, kneeling down beside the fallen teen whilst Yugi shut the door and glanced up and down the isle to make sure they were alone.

Placing a large palm over Yami's already swollen stomach he examined his face to make sure that the fall hadn't hurt him.  At a raised eyebrow that clearly stated that his concern was unnecessary, he put an arm around Yami's waist and helped him rise to his feet.

"You're always so fussy in the afterglow," Yami stated with amusement, brushing off the back of his trousers after he found his balance.

"That is quite enough information for me, thank you," Yugi exclaimed, violet eyes meeting the crimson and blue that looked down at him with mild surprise and genuine gratitude.

The cosy moment was shattered by Tea's voice called to them as she raced down the isle, Mai a few steps behind her as they ran.  "Yami!  Have you got-?"

"Where's Kiara?" Yugi asked before she could continue, glancing from Mai to Tea before his eyes turned anxious and rose to gauge Yami's reaction.

Yami's face remained stony but Seto's relayed far more emotion.  "Where is she?!"

"God Seto, we're so sorry!  We just looked away for a minute and-she must have crawled off!" Tea exclaimed, eyes tearing up now.

Mai was not saying anything, far more concerned with watching Yami who remained frighteningly impassive.  Tea and Seto seemed to notice his silence and fell quiet, their gazes moving to rest on his faces.  His mouth was a thin line as he regarded the ground, almost as if he considered it something really interesting.

"You lost my daughter," he finally said in a very calm tone, his eyes still down and his body frozen.

At Tea and Mai's hesitant, dooming nods his eyes suddenly exploded into life, his head jerking up and his voice going from a calm tone to one of a possessed maniac.  "HOW THE HELL DID YOU LOSE MY DAUGHTER?!  WHY?!"

"We don't know!" they both shouted right back, fearful and upset at the same time.

It was Yugi who calmed him down, Seto boiling with fury and worry pretty much completely occupied with resisting the urge not to throttle the pair.  "Shouting isn't going to find her, Yami.  She's probably safe, we just need to find her."

"She's fine Yugi, I just have no idea where she is," Yami replied, the decibel level of his voice returning to something normal.  At their questioning looks he shrugged slightly.  "I can sense her, alright?  It's not as strong as the bond I have with Yugi which mean's I can't locate her, but I know she's safe."

"Come on; we'd better start looking now before Joey finds her first," Seto said already walking away from the group, Yami turning and following on his heel with Yugi whilst Mai and Tea resumed their search for the missing child.  

//I hope Joey doesn't find her, especially with the way he's been behaving today.  He'd probably put her in a microwave or something.//

****

After thirty minutes of fruitless searching, the entire group minus Ryou and Bakura met up in the House-wares Department, Yami and Seto sick with worry and the others continuously glancing around incase Kiara was nearby.  They all looked up when two shop assistants ran past in terror with cries of 'demon child!'  Cursing from between the shelves behind them signaled Bakura's approach.

"Damn you, you little freak!  Stop pulling!"

Exchanging curious looks they all rose to their feet and moved towards the sound of the angry voice, their eyes growing wide when the trio came into site.

Kiara was sat on Bakura's shoulders, her hands lost in Bakura's platinum hair and more significantly a miniature Eye of Horus glowing fiercely on her forehead.  Squealing with glee, she lent back against the slender hands that were holding her in place on his shoulders, giving her carrier's hair another hard yank.

Ryou followed behind Bakura looking amused and slightly bewildered at the sight.  Looking over his yami's shoulder he gave them a grin and a shrug as they approached.

"Pharaoh, get your spawn off of me now before I kill both it and you," the Tomb Raider snarled when he was standing opposite an extremely surprised Yami.

Not waiting to be told twice, Yami reached up and deftly removed his child from the other's shoulders, cradling the excited infant in his arms and grinning down at her.  After a brief internal struggle he looked back up at Bakura who was still fuming at the squirming baby.

"Thank you for finding her," he said honestly, knowing very well that he would likely never be able to say those words sincerely to him again.

Bakura just snorted and crossed his arms.  "I didn't find the brat, she found me.  Started chewing on my pant leg when I wasn't looking.  The Ring went insane when the Eye appeared."

Yami made a considering noise, touching the dimming mark with a finger, which caused it to disappear completely.  Handing Kiara over to Seto who received her gratefully, he crossed his arms in thought.  "It's likely that Kiara inherited Shadow Magic from me and can use it at whim.  I'm bound by my title and the Puzzle to only use my magic to issue Game Penalties or help Yugi.  Apparently she is under no such limitation."

"How'd you figure that?" Honda asked concerning the last part of that explanation, frowning down at the Game King who still seemed deep in thought.

"This might be a good example," Seto said for him, directing their attention to him as he looked up from Kiara.  He was holding a small metal screw that had somehow come into his possession over her face, her violet eyes transfixed by the object and her hands reaching up for him.

Holding his hand out, her eyes followed the screw and when he dropped it down by his side the third Eye flared back into life.  The screw stopped it's descent in mid air and drifted into her eager hands, her fingers closing around the cool surface and a contented giggle escaping her mouth.

"Wow," Joey stated after a moment of silence, pretty much summing up all their thoughts right then.

Kiara's eyes clicked to the blond and she held out the screw with another giggle, the Eye flashing briefly and the screw sailing over his head to skitter to a stop some feet behind him.

"Fetch," she gurgled in a childish voice.

Yami blinked before smirking in an attempt not to laugh out loud, taking her out of Seto's arms because he was obviously going to crack up soon.  The others were laughing openly and Joey was fuming.

"This is your fault!" he accused, jabbing a finger into Seto's chest.

Seto had the grace to look surprised.  "What?  How?"

"Ya gave her whatever gene you have that made ya do that!"

Tea stopped laughing first and tried to smooth over the reaction from that comment.  "Joey, that's ridiculous!  She's just-"

"A lot smarter than either of her parents," Bakura stated with a smirk.  He had a feeling he might actually get on with the sprog.

Glaring at Bakura lightly Yami began walking away from the scene, Kiara having lost interest now and starting to fall asleep.  There was likely going to be a fist-fight soon and he for one couldn't afford to get caught in the middle of that.  Still, he hoped that his expected twin's little statements proved to be as entertaining and impacting as his first born's.

****

Borath: Okay, updates are going to be coming in a lot slower than they have over the last few months because, alas, I am leaving the blissful freedom that I have enjoyed for the last twelve weeks.  That's right kids.  Borath is being chained to a desk and having coursework being chucked at her.  Yay.

But I will endeavor to finish this ficlet rather than abandoning it which I very nearly did the other day when my attempts to write chapter 20 turned out to be abysmal.  Excuse crapness in upcoming chapters; I am going to be under a fair amount of strain.

For those of you who were confused at Joey's antics, which would be all of you, this is the list that he and Honda dueled over.  I found it a few weeks ago, saw that it had potential and kept it.  Using all 15 things would have been unfeasible so I only did 5, but I hope I presented the actions in an amusing way through this chapter and the last.

15 Things to do at Wal-Mart while your spouse/shopping partner/significant other is taking his/her sweet time:  
  
1. Get 24 boxes of condoms & randomly put them in peoples' carts when they aren't looking.  
  
2. Set all the alarm clocks in housewares to go off at 5 minute intervals.  
  
3. Make a trail of tomato juice on the floor to the rest rooms.  
  
4. Walk up to an employee and tell him/her in an official tone, 'Code 3 in house-wares' and see what happens.  
  
5. Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on lay away.  
  
6. Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.  
  
7. Set up a tent in the camping department and tell other shoppers you'll only invite them in if they bring pillows from the bedding department.  
  
8. When a clerk asks if they can help you, begin to cry and ask 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?  
  
9. Look right into the security camera and use it as a mirror while you pick your nose.  
  
10. While handling guns in the hunting department ask the clerk if he knows where the anti-depressants are.  
  
11. Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the theme from 'Mission Impossible'.  
  
12. In the auto department practice your Madonna look using different size funnels.  
  
13. Hide in the clothing rack and when people browse through say 'PICK ME! PICK ME!!!!!!'  
  
14. When an announcement comes over the loud speaker assume the fetal position and scream NO! NO! It's those voices again'.

   
15. Go into a fitting room and yell really loudly 'Hey! We're out of toilet paper in here!'.

Yami: Keep reviewing and making her happy so she doesn't do anything else sadistic to me.

Bakura: Or keep reviewing and encouraging her to torment the little sap as much as possible before the end of this story.

Yami: Asshole.

Bakura: Fern head.

Borath: Thanks to Saria-The-Green-Haired for the 'Fetch' idea!  I had to re-load this chapter to add that you know!


	20. Shoved

Borath: I started collage today.. O_O pretty much explains that. Spending the afternoon 'bonding' with my new tutor group is *not* a step up from spending my afternoons writing and reading fanfic. This new development in my life (education. Ick) means that writing is going to take a little bit of a back-seat in terms of what I spend my time doing. I *will* keep writing; make no mistake about that. I just won't be updating every week. More like once a fortnight or when I can manage.

Yami: Right, this bit of news should be bad for some of you and great for others, namely me.

Bakura: Borath is losing steam with this fic!

Yami: But, damn-it-all, it's not being abandoned. The plot is just going to be hurried along at a brisker pace and less irrelevant stuff is going to be popping up.

Bakura: The only reason this chapter exists, well, most of it anyway, is because it was pre-promised so it had to be included.

Yami: GQ&TS should finish with less than 30 chapters. (Eyes bug) And that's cut short?!

Bakura:(Ignoring Yami) The plot has already been decided so no more suggestions. Just praise. And Yami bashing.

Borath: I *dare* anyone to do that and leave their e-mail address. You wanna bitch about *my* Yami you can mess with something that will also be the last thing you ever see. 

Yami: (Whispering) Borath is in a bad mood. She's seen her homework timetable and has the one art teacher that she despises for the next 2 years.

Bakura:(Imploringly) Can I trade this job for what's behind door number 2?

Yami: Oh! You remember that vote ages ago about who was going to get dunked in the ever-so-famous cursed spring next? Finally the votes are counted and the result is here!

Borath: I didn't forget!!! Yay!

Bakura: (Quirking an eyebrow) Um, 'yay'?

****

Chapter 20: Shoved

YVO

//I'm dying *and* my life officially sucks at the moment. Stupid fucking Seto is pulling the mother-hen routine and won't leave me alone and Yugi keeps trying to force-feed me. I really would like one night of uninterrupted sleep and Kiara's telekinetic powers are becoming a handful. At least I *think* that her heritage is only enabling her telekinesis rather than mind-control and access to the Shadow Realm. I suppose that if I come into her room and see her playing with a Kuribo I'll know. 

So far all her energy is directed at turning small objects into projectiles, with most of their targets' being Joey much to my amusement. The poor teen has stopped coming by now when he knows she's awake lest he receive another videotape to the head. 

As for her soon-to-be siblings, I'm in the mindset that they hate me, this extrapolated from the way in which they seem to delight in trying to break my ribs and kick the hell out of my intestines. At four months they're already tight-pressed for room and I'm phoning to see if the damned-fountain is in working order twice a day. My waist is *not* going to be able to take this abuse for much longer; I already feel ready to explode.

My hormones are finally starting to either become inactive or die because I'm not as temperamental as I used to be. I don't cry over puppies anymore, something that I threatened Honda over when he caught me in floods of tears over a frolicking Labrador on the television. I think it went something along the lines of removing his eyeballs with a spoon, feeding them to him and then pouring a salt and iodine mixture into the empty sockets. 

At least I am still retaining my creative streak.//

****

"Are you dying again Pharaoh? Can I watch?"

Glaring through the cold pack that covered his eyes, Yami settled for making a two-fingered gesture with his right hand at the Tomb Raider rather than getting up from where he was sprawled across the arms of a chair. His head was pounding again and the fact that two small children were currently bouncing around his gut meant that he couldn't take anything to relieve the pain. 

Relieving the pain that was Bakura would have helped ease him significantly though. If only his spine wasn't finally in a position where it didn't ache...

"That was a very rude gesture. Trying to corrupt your spawn already?"

//Why is he here again? Oh yes, Yugi invited Ryou over whilst Seto was at work and the bastard had to pop out and say 'hi'. By Ra what a day I'm having.//

"Aibou? Do me a favor and duct-tape his mouth? Or throw him out of the house entirely; I don't mind," he asked finally when his tether evaporated. 

"Aw, not quite feeling up to the exertion? Poor Little Pharaoh," Bakura drawled, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Tomb Raider..." A warning growl.

Bakura gasped melodramatically and covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh help Yugi! He's going to *scold* me!"

Eye of Horus flashing Yami tore off the cold-pack and flung it at Bakura who caught it easily. Turning his eyes on Yugi who had just entered the room, he didn't even try to soften his expression. "Yugi, *please* get rid of him."

To Yami's surprise and dismay his Hikari grinned in a way that could only be described as evil. "Why?"

Crimson eyes narrowed to thin slits before a considering smirk smoothed his lips. //So Yugi thinks he can pull of Darkness better than I can?// "Because if you don't I'll transform us into Yugioh which means we'll be sharing a body. And a pregnancy."

Point taken. "Bakura, I really think it's time you should go."

"I don't want to."

"Well you're going to," Yami snarled making it apparent that those hormones were still a *little* bit active. 

Bakura had his mouth open in preparation to make what was likely going to be a scathing and profanity-laden remark when the phone rang. Yami's eyes widened to the size of saucers with anticipation and he leapt up from the chair, bolting past Bakura and grabbing for the phone.

"Yami? It's Seto. The fountain's fixed."

That little statement brought much joy and happiness to the heart of the Game King. Grinning like an idiot, he hung up knowing that Seto was likely on the way home and strode to the door. Yugi put two and two together and followed at his heels, Bakura, simply curious, tailed the two out because he had nothing better to do.

****

Ten minutes later and still standing outside the house with absolutely no sign of Seto Yami was prepared to kill something sweet and innocent in a most viciously violent manner. Bakura picked up on this feeling from the other spirit and had taken up a protective spot on the other side of Yugi to the Game King, keeping his mouth shut despite the temptation otherwise.

Hearing the phone ring, Yugi hastily sprinted inside to answer it leaving the audibly-teeth-grinding Millennium Puzzle spirit alone with the immensely-amused Ring spirit. Obviously it was a rather tense situation. It got down-right volatile when Yugi returned though.

"*What?!*"

Taking a good step away from his yami, Yugi swallowed heavily and considered quoting the 'don't shoot the messenger' phrase before he had his head ripped off. "He's stuck in traffic. Something about a pile-up then he started swearing again. Anyway, he's called Joey to drive us over."

Bakura's brow rose into his hairline at that. "He is trusting that moron with our lives?" he asked incredulously. Funnily enough, the look Yami was giving the smaller boy matched the Tomb Raider's expression perfectly.

"It'll be fine! Look, wait here and I'll fetch Kiara. We don't know how long this'll take so we can't really leave her here," Yugi explained before disappearing back into the house. Yami got the strong feeling that his Hikari was just avoiding his presence rather than thinking of his daughter's well-being.

Two minutes later there was a screech of tires as Joey made a painful hand-brake-assisted stop infront of them and all three would-be passengers gave an audible groan. The fourth was screaming in protest, but after being thumped by Yami Bakura stopped.

By some miracle the group made it to fountain alive *and*, as an added bonus, in *one* piece. Pale and shakey Yami emerged from the car-of-death as fast as his 'condition' allowed before making a beeline for the correct fountain. Also eager to put as much distance between themselves and the vehicle Bakura and Yugi, still carrying Kiara, hurried to follow. Joey wandered along behind them wondering what all the fuss was about.

Nearing the water's edge Yami smiled with anticipation before putting one booted-foot into the cool liquid. The area was deserted so he wasn't getting any funny looks from tourists this time which was a blessing. He was about to step in the water fully when he heard a glass-shattering scream from behind.

Snapping his head round at the sound he was despaired to see Kiara bawling her head off and Joey taking many hasty steps backwards away from her. Apparently Yugi had attempted to hand her over to the blond teen when she didn't want to go. The screams were the result.

Counting to ten mentally, Yami half walked half squelched over to the pair to calm Kiara down before she broke someone's ear-drums. Kiara seemed quite intent on solving her own problems her own way though. 

Eye of Horus glowing menacingly, the stopped crying and screaming long enough to scowl at Joey in a way that made her father quite proud. Joey suddenly found himself in midair flying towards the cursed-spring, a bloodcurdling scream emphasizing just what he thought of *that* idea.

Landing with an enormous splash, there was a flurry of bubbles before Joey crawled out in the body he would have had if one of his chromosomes had had an extra leg at his conception. Add to that the fact that she had a bruise the size of a grapefruit on her face and looked pretty pissed off, it was little wonder why Bakura was on his knees clutching at his sides in fits of laughter. Yami was having to bite the inside of his cheek to keep a straight face too.

Taking some measure of pity on the newly-formed girl, the Game King strode towards her and placed a hand in the center of her chest. Mumbling under his breath with his own third Eye glowing, he stepped back looking triumphant and crossed his arms across his chest.

"What did ya just do?" Joey gritted out, frowning through a thick mess of sopping brown hair and clutching her jacket tighter around her chest.

"I ensured that the curse will wear off in about a month rather than last you a lifetime. I've lived with that magical effect for quite a while and have figured out how to manipulate it to some degree with my own magic," Yami replied with a smirk looking quite pleased with himself.

"I owe ya."

"Yes you do. I'll call you for it too."

"Your kid is almost as bad as you are."

"Yes, but she'll be more equal to me when she's older."

It was Bakura who interrupted the admittedly peculiar conversation. "Hey Pharaoh? You going to be getting hips any time soon? I'm getting pissed with your company now, and the bitch's."

"Hey!"

"No-one asked you to come," Yami shouted back.

A grin. "And miss you going girl-power? Not bloody likely!"

Shaking his head slightly and rolling his eyes, Yami decided that he had better make the transformation now before they started trying to sort Joey out. The poor kid had slipped into a mix of anger and depression already, Yugi leading her back to the car to dig out a blanket to keep her warm.

Turning back to the spring Yami stepped into it fully and stared down expectantly. Nothing happened. Figuring that he needed to be fully submerged for the switch to actually take place he slowly eased himself down to his knees before taking a breath and lying backwards. 

Staring at the blurry sky through the water Yami waited, breaking the surface again when the need to breathe pressed at his chest and throat. Glancing down at himself he was surprised to find that he was still male. No bubbles. No mystical-glowy transformations. Squat.

Glancing up he jumped slightly to see Bakura towering over him, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his lips pursed in contemplation. "Kinda butch this time, aren't ya?"

Yami leant back on his hands in the water and glared up at him. "That's because nothing's happened nimrod."

"Nimrod?"

"Look, just help me up. Something's wrong here so I need to go interrogate a worker here."

"Can I watch you hit him? Or even better; can I hit him?"

"I'm not going to hit anyone. I'm only going to ask what's different."

'You really are crap at going about getting information."

"Shut up."

"Hmm, that's a change. Usually you just tell me to 'fuck off'."

"That's because you still haven't helped me up."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. Or I'll pull you in here and you can see what it's like to have hormones."

"Snippy today? Spawn kicking again?"

"As a matter of fact they are. Now help me up."

"It's funny this."

"What?"

"You asking for help."

"I'm desperate. I wouldn't even consider it otherwise."  


"Whatever."

"So are you going to be helping or what?"

"Or what."

"I will pull you in."

"I would love to see you tr-oh shit!"

"Damnit! Why do you wear trainers anyway?"

"Comfort. Can I have my shoe back now?"

"You help me to stand and then I'll give you your shoe back."

"No."

"Damnit. Yugi!"

****

Yami: What exactly happened to your writing at the end there?

Borath: It dissolved, didn't it? It's a fantastic new style. Honest. Really effective. Readers love it. The minimal-effort on my part had absolutely nothing to do with why I did it.

Bakura: Yeah right. So the fact that you had to go back to school after three months didn't lead to this, 'dissolving'?

(There is a large nuclear explosion and Bakura dies. Pissed-off fangirls suddenly appear with various weapons and threats. Borath looks scared.)

Borath: (Nervously with wide eyes and a shield)*That* Bakura was just a clone. The original Hell-Child is safe and sound. Honest.

Yami: (Laughs)

Borath: Right. I'll give you an honest pre-warning; there might not be an update next Friday. Usually I have the next chapter half-way through by now but as of yet I have yet to start it so, erm, this does not bode well for updating. Sorry. I will try!!! I have two insanity fics up now so if you get desperate read those!


	21. Respect

Borath: (Blinks) Christ.  This is *the* longest fiction that I have ever written and people are *still* reading it!  What's more is that I'm not getting flamed!  Yay me! 

Yami: (extremely sarcastically) Yes.  It's fan-fucking-tastic.

Bakura: (Whispering) He's hormonal again.

Yami: (Screaming) I heard that you bastard!

Borath: Right.  Moving on.  Collage is hard so excuse mental exhaustion (technically it's 'Sixth Form' so I'm still at school just with a blue shirt, smaller tutor group and more insane timetable) but my shirt is getting me a kind of reverence in the corridors that I find amusing.  All the little kiddies move to let you pass which is nice.  It's like 'Christ.  She *survived* five years of this and came back out of *choice*!'.

Yami: You're stalling.

Bakura: Like you mind.  You've read this chapter.

Yami: Hence me hating you.

Bakura: (Looks down at feet) I hate me too actually.

(Both look up at Borath)  Bitch!!

Borath: (Grins 'n' shrugs) Reviewers' opinions count.  Yours don't.  Excuse late updates but collage is really taking up a lot of my time.  I've had three essays to complete so far and I've only been there a week! 

Yami: Would you just get on with this?

Borath: When I'm done.  Right, I'm not going to be developing the 'Joey-Girl' plot as much as I had planned to simply because I've *got* to finish this fiction and weaving in that is going to take up time and space.  If you don't want this thing to be abandoned entirely don't complain.  Yugi is going to have way more inclusion in Chapter 22 and the ones following that.  Sorry but he's kinda slipped from my work recently.  Go read Submission if you want to read Yugi more.  You could review that too!!!

Chapter 21: Respect 

YVO  

//To help Joey through his new 'difficulty' she has officially moved in with Seto, Mokuba and I for the next month until her own curse wears off, thanks to me I might add.  It's also to avoid that tricky business of parents.  That whole 'how the hell did my kid change gender?' thing might be difficult to work around so she told them she's staying with us.  The complete lack of caring on their part worries me but she isn't bothered so I'm not going to press.

Bakura is still being a bastard but I think he's let up a little since I last saw Ryou.  Obviously something is troubling the Tomb Raider and he is taking it out rather violently on his Hikari, something that does not sit well with me at all.  I don't know when it started up again, or if it ever stopped.  Ryou won't discuss it and I have my own problems now so I can't put too much energy into investigating his.

There is officially a problem now as I have been dunked in that damn fountain six times and am still male.  And pregnant. With twins.  This is a very shit situation if anyone is wondering.

Seto is getting concerned and after the initial humour element wore off Yugi is worried about me as well.  I do not think I could physically come through the next four months intact with twins.  One child, it might work out.  Two I haven't got a hope with.  

It's not the fountain that's broken.  We gave the water time to fill the spring again and slosh around a bit before I got in and I've tried everything to initiate the change.  Getting in naked in the dead of night was a more desperate attempt which, to my despair, also failed.  

Something is wrong with *me* and I simply can't fathom what it is.  I feel fine all things considered and my Soul Room seems to be normal.  I've considered asking Tetsuo but actually thinking about that made me decide against that action.  He is merely a card.  It is doubtful he would have any idea of what's wrong; he's not versed in this curse.

Hopefully time will sort his problem out before it becomes a hazard.  Until then all I can do is keep searching within and be patient.

At least I have company now.  With Seto at work and Mokuba at school I'm on my own at the house a lot now.  Yugi is still going to school despite offers to stay with me concerning this recent development but stops by as often as he can.  Joey and I haven't got much of a choice but to stay out of school.  Joey-turned-female and me as a pregnant guy is going to be interesting to confront a teacher with.  An amusing visual to entertain there but now entirely feasible in real life.

Speaking of entertaining Joey is providing me with much-needed distraction now.  Quite a lot of the time rather inadvertently.  For example the argument over whether or not she should wear a bra.  I told her to run downstairs and knew I'd won when she got three steps down before screaming in pain and clutching her arms across her chest.  I know way too much about the female body for my own good.

It's bad that I don't have one at the moment though.//

****

Yami glared at the coffeemaker as he waited for it to finish its task.  Damn machine would not work fast enough when he wanted it to and could swear that it was laughing at him when he wasn't looking.  

He wasn't allowed caffeine anymore, just one item on a *very* long list there, and one that he was not happy about.  Decaffeinated  coffee just tasted different.  Bad.  Crap coffee.  And still he need craved the damn stuff.

Grinning when there was enough made, Yami poured the liquid into two mugs and set them on the table, picking up the sugar spoon with one hand whilst using the other to adjust the white towel wrapped around his hips.  It had to rest under his stomach now, another thing he was a little annoyed with but that was tinged with some joy when the reason for that was remembered.

Hearing the water click off he took a seat at the table and waited for Joey to enter for breakfast.  He'd already eaten having been up for an hour already the twins deciding that they didn't want him lying down anymore and doing their best to make him move.

Yami snorted with amusement into his mug when Joey entered, her own fluffy white towel also slung around her hips.  She frowned at him questioningly but had to wait for him to compose himself enough to speak.

"You're a girl now, Joey," he stated with as straight a face as he could manage.

"Yeah, I kinda figured," came the confused reply.

"Then you need to have your towel wrapped higher around your body."

Blushing six shades of red Joey hastily corrected the towel before dropping into a seat and doing her best to avoid Yami's eyes.  Rolling his eyes and laughing slightly at the display he sought to make the other teen more comfortable.

"Don't be so embarrassed.  I've seen it all, had it all and actually require it all right now," he trailed off with a frown.  //Oh *that's* a fantastic start to the morning.  Dimwit.//

To Yami's relief Joey didn't take them both down that avenue.  It had already been discussed and dissected in detail over the last few days and they were still clueless as to what to do.

Eyes flickering to the Game King's pronounced stomach when he stood again to refill his mug Joey grinned and pointed.  "I bet ya could balance a mug on that now."

Yami snorted and glanced down himself, admitting silently that that was quite possibly true.  The balancing-thing had become a bit of a game in the final weeks before Kiara's birth and with two in there now he was being rammed though the growth aspect quite quickly.  "They're active now so I'd rather not try.  But you're probably right.  I'm starting to miss being able to see my toes again you know."

"They're fine.  Still connected to your feet an' all that.  What are we doing today?"

Shrugging slightly Yami turned around and leaned against the counted to look at her.  "Anything you like.  Seto took Kiara to the office with him today so I'm free and Yugi has some kind of assignment at school so he won't be around until later."

"I think that he's going to freak out his staff like that," Joey laughed folding her hands behind her head.

"How so?"

"Oh come on!  Do you remember what Kaiba used to be like?  Hell, they'll probably be surprised to see that he can be, you know, human," she finished with a grin.

Yami turned this information over in his head a few times before seeing the humour in it and smiling also.  "How about going to the park today?

"Sounds good.  Am I borrowing your old clothes again?"

"If you want them to fit properly I think you should."

****

"Get back you here you little twerp!"

Yami and Joey had been sitting quite happily in the park for the last twenty minutes simply enjoying the pleasant weather before that blood-curdling shout was heard.  The Game King had been getting some curious looks off of passing strangers due to the sheer size of his stomach, but that had been happening so often as of late that he was actually immune to their looks.  Joey was having a harder time ignoring the stares she received though; quite a few males teens had shown their appreciation of her new body making her squirm in, what Yami thought, was quite an amusing manner.

His attention was now directed solely on that shout, the owner of the voice he feared he knew too well.  Standing slowly, he turned full circle scanning the surrounding area with his eyes until he saw a flash of platinum hair flickering past the bushes.  A twin mop could be glimpsed a few paces behind the bush and more shouting could be heard from inside the bracken.

Yami only paused for a second in indecision before narrowing his crimson eyes to slits and heading in the direction of the shouting, Joey following on his heels her expression clearly showing that he knew what was going on.  Sure enough, seconds later Ryou burst out of the bushes with twigs and leaves lodged in his hair, Bakura hot on his heels like a Hell-hound.

Instinctively Ryou darted around Yami and stood behind him, panting hard from having legged it across most of the park.  Bakura skidded to a stop at Yami's toes sending all three of them Death glares.  "Get back here you pathetic creature!"

"Hey!  Lay off Bakura," Joey said, raising her hands and moving slowly to Yami's side.

"Shut up mongrel, this is none of your concern," he snapped backed, reaching around Yami for his Hikari.

"Leave him alone Tomb Raider.  Ryou doesn't need nor is he deserving of such treatment," Yami growled out sternly, still using his body as a barrier between the pair.  He sensed that Ryou had taken a few steps backwards, the harsh breathing not quite so loud anymore.

"He needs to grow a bloody backbone if he's gonna survive in this world!  Pussyfooting around that fact isn't going to help him so I'll have to beat it into him," Bakura replied sharply his eyes still on Ryou, taking another step forward to force Yami out of the way.

Glaring, Yami refused to move and when the albino-haired teen tried to dart to his side eliciting a cry of fear from Ryoun, he snapped out a hand and grabbed his arm.  Bakura didn't take to being restrained very well and tried to snap back out of the hold, pulling Yami forward into him when he didn't let go.  The combined weight and momentum sent them both backwards into the bushes, where they quickly discovered that the ground was quite severely sloped.

Fighting became a secondary concern to Yami now as they both tumbled down the hill; preventing anything from knocking his stomach had risen pretty damn fast on his list of importance.  He managed to prevent blows from scattered rocks and branches, but the fact that he and Bakura were still holding onto each other meant that they were in extremely close quarters.

It wasn't much of a surprise when his knee was knocked firmly into the side of his gut.

Gasping as his vision went white for a second, Yami shoved the other teen away from him and splayed his arms to halt his descent.  It proved unnecessary as they had both reached the flat relief at the bottom of the hill, Bakura swearing over what looked like a broken wrist and Yami lying back with a hand on his stomach.  

Everything had gone alarmingly still inside.

TBC

Borath: Hmm.  I wasn't actually going to 'TBC' it there.  I just figured that you lot would rather have a short update than none at all.  Chapters will come more often if they're short so bear with me.  Reviews are more important now than ever because you're contending for time with homework as well as a social life.

Bakura: Bollocks.  What social life?

Yami: Bollocks?  That's a funny thing...

Bakura: What?

Yami: Well, bollocks means bad but the dog's bollocks is good.

(Both yami's look to Borath for enlightenment)

Borath: (Shrugs) I'm British.  That's how things are.  Go figure.


	22. Prospects

Yami: Bet you're all surprised that Borath is updating on a Tuesday. You have no idea how rare this is.

Borath: Collage. Hard. How am I still finding time to write? Easy; I don't sleep. Picasso said that sleeping was a waste of time and although I do not support that statement entirely, I have found better uses for that time. Hopefully I'll be able to get a sufficient amount of shut-eye when this fic is over. That'll be a while though so you'll have to put up with a degree of crapness as I write with sleep-deprivation.

Yami: How can there be more?! You've put me through enough as it is!

Bakura: I'm inclined to agree.

Borath: I'm aiming for less than 30 chapters so bear with me please. Still in 'serious mode' but it'll go away soon as I am treating this particular topic with no-where near the amount of delicacy and time that it deserves. If you have a problem with how I am writing this then FUCK YOU. Better yet; flame me then I can respond to it in the next chapter. I'm taking a leaf out of Jackass's book here as the idea is pretty damn good.

Yami: Are you done yet?

Borath: Pretty much. Humour returning soon. Trust me; part of it is already written. Updated chapters are going to be shorter than usual and please continue to ignore the following;

OOCness. (I don't give a damn so don't point it out) Swearing (You HAVE to be used to it from me by now, surely?) Glaring deviations from the YuGiOh thread. (How long have I been ignoring that now?) Spelling and grammar mistakes. (Piss off I'm tired) My impatience with hovering over one bit. (All of this is in Chapter One) The lack of Yugi. (I got a complaint about this but he'll be back soon. I just don't have a huge fondness for the character. I don't hate him as much as Tea/Anzu by any means but I don't see him as essential either. Now Yami on the other hand...) Tea/Anzu-bashing. (I'm restraining myself in this fic but if it does manage to slip out, don't whine) Anything else you'd love to nitpick but I haven't listed. If you can't excuse it, stick it in a review and let me bitch at you in the next chapter. Or have some balls and leave your e-mail address with it. Better yet, get MSN Messenger and we can have a verbal scrap. I warn you now though; I'm good) 

Bakura: (Hitting Borath over the head with his Anime Mallet) Right, on with the story now and I'll apologise for being such a bastard now because even *I* feel bad. 

Yami: You'll all get a formal apology if things are still this bloody serious and somber at Chapter 24. Then the wackiness comes back Ra help me. Someone (Borath can't be asked to search through all those reviews to find out who exactly) complained that Chapters 10 and 11 were too serious ('where's the humour?') and that comment has been taken to heart EXTREMELY seriously.

Bakura: (Snickering) Something to look forward to.

****

Chapter 22: Prospects

"Ryou get Yugi *now*!"

Yami blinked sharply out of his own little world back to his surroundings, his back hurting terribly and a lump the size of a walnut rapidly swelling on his forehead. Neither of these concerned him as much as the ominous stillness in his gut. The twins were *never* still. One was always kicking or rolling even at three in the damn morning.

Joey's face appeared above his eyes, one hand going to his shoulder whilst the other clasped over his own on his stomach. "Are you okay?"

Not daring to speak he simply shook his head in a negative way before closing his eyes and trying to extend his senses. The pain lacing up his spine was distracting him though making it difficult to concentrate his powers.

That was, it *would* have been difficult to concentrate his powers if he *had* any. Where the trickle and surge of his magic through his being from the Puzzle should have been there was only a void; a black abyss of nothingness that mocked him and his unborn children maliciously.

Panicking now Yami switched from trying to repair the damage he knew had been inflicted onto the twins to shifting back into his Soul Room where he would have better access to his magic which was, apparently, untouchable right now whilst he was in a physical form.

"Damnit you little twit! I need this arm-what's wrong?"

Bakura had staggered over to them now, clutching his throbbing wrist to his chest and breathing through a bloodied nose. Glancing down at them both he seemed to sum up the situation for himself and dropped to his knees beside Joey, brow having disappeared into his bangs.

"What the hell are you waiting for Pharaoh? Get in the damn Puzzle!" he shouted, already having sensed that Yami wasn't using his magic to heal himself, which implied shock of some sort.

"I can't. I can't do anything," the Game King replied sounding afraid and extremely pissed off at the same time. Afraid that he still couldn't feel any movement and pissed off that he was powerless to do anything about it.

"Fine. If you can't move then I'll do it," Bakura growled before dropping his injured arm and clasping both hands about the Millennium Puzzle hanging slanted on Yami's chest. Instantly it began to glow a blinding white, Bakura having to close his eyes against the blaze as he struggled to work.

"What the hell are you doing? Get the hell off him!" Joey cried trying to yank the Tomb Raider's hands away. They had seized up about the Puzzle though, the metal beginning to grow hot in the light now. Yami had stiffened when Bakura had grabbed it, surprised more than anything, but now sparks of pain were coming together inside his mind and throughout his form. It was all he could do not to scream.

"Getting inside another's Item isn't impossible," Bakura muttered through clenched teeth as sweat starting forming a film over his face. Then Joey found herself utterly alone in the park, hands hovering in thin air still warm from the magic that had been there.

"Hurts like a bitch for all parties though," the teen finished, finally able to release his hands and fall back from Yami's writhing form. Landing hard on his rear inside of the other's Soul Room, Bakura took a moment to regain his senses and strength. 

Forcing inside another's Item meant breaking through a lot of hefty barriers, all charmed to lash out when they were passed in hopes of deterring the intruder. The Puzzle was the most fortified Item in terms of shields, so it was no wonder that he was having difficulty forming a single coherent thought right now.

"How?" Yami gasped out after a few moments of silence, pushing himself up onto his elbows and staring at the other spirit bewildered.

"I can take peoples' souls out of their bodies with little effort. You really thought it would be a strain just to *move* yours? We're only spirits in essence; it wasn't hard," Bakura snapped back, slightly miffed that Yami thought so lowly of his skills. 

And there was that *little* bit of guilt that had popped up from the remaining shred of humanity that he had left. Bloody thing. He *knew* that that surviving bit of compassion would be pain in the ass sooner or later.

"I want to leave," he stated flatly; sugar-coating things wasn't exactly his strong suit. "Yugi'll be here soon, no doubt."

Feeling no pain in his metaphysical form Yami rose to his feet, shivering despite himself at how cold it had become inside his sanctuary despite the pained-heat radiating from the walls. //Yeah, I'm going to really feel this when I re-materialize.//

"Thank you," he said stiffly.

"I think I've apologized," Bakura replied tipping his head to their surroundings. He was not going to utter the words 'I'm' and 'sorry' to Yami in the same sentence until they were the *only* way to end five million years of torture.

With that Bakura released his hold on the alien Soul Room and dropped back to the grass where he had just been. Returning had been relatively painless compared to entering the Puzzles, the barriers practically shoving his essence out as they raised behind him. He knew he'd caused a bit of damage to the shields with his forced entry but he was more concerned about the damage he had glimpsed elsewhere in the Puzzle, marring that he had *definitely* not caused.

If the Puzzle was damaged as bad as he thought it was then there was no way Yami was going to be able to save the children.

****

Stepping up onto his bed, Yami felt no urgency now as he had before. Whenever he was injured in his physical form his condition never continued to deteriorate whilst inside his Soul Room. The same could be said of his children; whatever harm had come to them was not going to be worsened whilst they, and himself, where here.

But if he had no access to his magic then they would not heal either.

Taking a calming breath he dared to raise his eyes slowly from where they had been focussed on the black silk sheets up to the two creatures he knew were being represented above him.

His knees gave out instantly and he fell back in shock.

The twins were identifiable as humans at this stage in growth, their physical characteristics being portrayed inside his Soul Room as if they were holograms. Unfortunately the damage they had endured during the fall was also clear.

Yami bit his lip and rose to his feet shakily, walking around the pair trying to assess their condition rationally and think of something to do concerning it. It was clear that his son had received the brunt of the impact, his daughter still injured but not badly in comparison. Yami had been to enough talks about pregnancy to know that there was no way that a hospital could repair damage this extensive to either of them.

//Why the Hell can't I help them?//

He was getting scared now. Very. A deep, harrowing fear that came from the pit of his belly and tried to freeze his throat as it clutched him in an icy grip. Sitting back down on the plush cushions behind him he brought his fists to his temples and pressed against his skull hard. His knees to his chest, he found himself unable to look at them anymore and lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Yami wasn't sure how long he'd sat there, trying desperately to access his magic over and over to heal them and finding that it eluded his grasp each and every time. A small hand to his back snapped him out of his efforts though, crimson eyes that had turned dull dragging up to meet bright violet ones.

"Yami?" Yugi asked quietly, his face pale and hands trembling as he regarded his Dark with fear. Joey had relayed the details of what had transpired to him immediately and he had gotten into the other's Soul Room as fast as he could, but for some reason he had found it difficult. Like trying to run through thick mud, clinging to your every step.

"They're dying," he replied simply by way of an answer. "They're dying and I can't do anything."

He didn't react when the smaller boy lunged at him, arms enveloping him firmly and tri-coloured hair tickling his nose as Yugi sought to offer comfort and deal with his own remorse.

"Aibou? Can you tell Seto? I can't... I want to stay here for a bit," Yami asked softly after long moments. He narrowed his eyes slightly when he realized that there was no real reason for staying here other than to mourn. //But there has to be something that I can do. Something that I haven't tried yet. It *cannot* be this way!//

Nodding slightly in understanding Yugi stepped back and was gone in a flash of white light, returning to his physical body and leaving Yami alone. Sighing slightly and uncurling his legs from his body, he reminded himself that he could stay here and think until he figured out something because nothing else could happen to the twins as long as he stayed in here.

Shoving his hands into his pockets he yelped when his hand practically burned at the contact with his dueling deck. Eyes widening, he snapped out his cards and flicked through them rapidly until he found the one that he sought. //How did I not think of this?!//

Throwing the card out infront of him he waited anxiously for a few seconds before growling in exasperation and screaming into the darkness around him. "Damnit! I can't summon you! And if you are who you say you are you know that perfectly damn well!"

Satisfied when the card glowed brightly and a figure stepped forwards from the area it had been occupying, Yami bit his lip hard and pointed to the representations of his children still hovering above the bed. "Help me," he forced out, not caring that it sounding like begging even to his ears.

Tetsuo's robes shifted as he brought his hands up from his sides and placed them gently on Yami's shoulders. "Of course. But with the Puzzle damaged that will be difficult."

"I don't care," he hissed back, crimson eyes flaring, indignant that the Monster before him would think that he would put himself above his children's lives.

The Horus Guardian shook his head slightly, lavender bangs shifting about his face. "No, you don't understand Yugioh. The Millennium Puzzle's magical conduits are damaged beyond my ability to repair, at least here. With no magic to access we have no choice but to use the existing energies here."

Understanding came slowly, be that through denial or some other emotion Yami didn't know. Eyes widening from where they had been slits his gaze turned to the two forms and remained there as he tried to force the words out. What came from his throat came as little more than a whisper. "You can't mean...?"

"Yes," Tetsuo confirmed gently, a flicker of sadness in his demon eyes. "To save one the other must be sacrificed and it's energies used to heal its' sibling."

****

Borath: I'll quit with the dramatic cliffhangers next chapter, honest.

Bakura: Bullshit you will.

Borath: And I'll clarify on the whole 'The Millennium Puzzle's magical conduits are damaged' thingy soon as well so don't go all 'I'm CONFFUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSEEEED' on me, gottit? It's called, wait for it, A SECONDARY PLOT! Ha-ha! I *am* capable of planning! You'll get more information on that over the next few chapters (so don't send suggestions as they have all been planned already. Actually *writing* them is the problem.)

Yami: Yes, we are pissed at her also so just review and then she can carry on with this extraction from hell.

Borath: I'm tired now and I really should get a start on that 1500 word essay that has to be in tomorrow...

Yami: Review and flame! Both are fun!

Bakura: Borath has turned sadistic since 'Submission' had to be taken down. Fucking ff.net and it's 'All NC17 must go!'. 

Borath: I LOST 99 REVIEWS! AND THEY WERE ALL PRAISE!!!

Yami: Yeah, and now it's re-posted as a PG13 which I think is just wrong. 

Borath: (Looking indignant) I reckon I can get away with it.

Yami: (Looking irritated. Mind you who can blame the poor sod?) Anyway, reviews are good and flames will be twisted into something truly unspeakable-

Bakura: -that even I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole.

Borath: (Pointing to the bottom left corner of the screen) There's the button. (Shrugs) Say what you feel.

Yami: NO update Friday because you got one today, so I can get a breather and Borath can work her ass off FIXING THIS MESS!

Bakura: You want the painting of Yami-In-A-Dress then send an e-mail with a request and a copy will come back to you. Give it a few days though as Internet access is limited. 

Yami: This week has just been weird all round so this update is rather special.

Borath: Oh! Oh! This is the first time I've done this but I think it's worthy of praise at the end of one of chapters! If you haven't read Spyder's (With a capital 's' as there is more than one) 'Chibi For A Day', then you are seriously missing out on something. 

Yami: Go read it! Well, review or send an e-mail and THEN go read it.

Bakura: (Groans) I'm going domestic in it! It's so wrong!

Yami: But the chibis love you!

Bakura: Oh! Question; define 'chibi'.

Borath: Is it a toddler or any small child? Kiara is about one now so would she count as a chibi? See? Yet ANOTHER excuse to review me. I stayed up bloody late into the night to write this damn thing you know!!! I don't think that a little effort on your part is much to ask for!

Yami: Um, yeah. We're gonna gag her and make her do that essay now because it really is getting into 'pointless rambling' territory here.

Bakura: So what's new? The last 22 chapters have consisted of nothing BUT ramblings.

Borath: Fuck off.

Yami: And on THAT happy note we bid you goodbye. (Grabs duct-tape and chases Borath)

Bakura: (Picks up his trusty Anime Mallet and his WEAPON OF MASS DESTUCTION (A two-hour tape of Barney; the God of all Fear) and follows eagerly)


	23. Cope

Borath: Well, I'm pleased that I got some positive responses to the darker phase that I am taking this story through. I find that I cannot ever write an entirely fluffy story or an entirely romantic one. I *have* to mix up three or four different genres and I usually do it when least expected.

Bakura: (Extremely sarcastically) Oh, and we're all *real* pleased about *that*, aren't we?

Yami: (Sniff) Not entirely. If I didn't exist only in the imagination and on celluloid I would kick your ass Borath!!!!

Borath: (Smiling indulgently) Hmm, naughty threats need to be punished, don't they?

Yami: (0_0;)Oh crap.

****

Chapter 23: Cope

YVO

//I am going to *kill* Bakura when I get my hands on him. I'm also going to kill Tetsuo for not making enough fucking *backups* in Puzzle to compensate for something like this. 

I still don't understand how the 'magical conduits' in the Item could be damaged, and I'm not entirely sure what the 'magical conduits' actually are either. Whatever has happened though means that I am powerless to do anything but make the choice that has been presented to me. Thankfully the Guardian left me alone to decide, stating that he would return when I felt surer of myself.

I thank him for not pointing out that my choice should be obvious and logical; my son is more severely injured than my daughter and it would be unlikely that I could use the, damn it why is it named so heartlessly? *Energies***** from my son to heal her to the extent where she could survive. The choice was stolen from me in the first place so there wasn't actually a decision to be made, just one that I had to come to terms with.

This is going to destroy Seto. I've been in here for three hours now thinking and, well, *dealing*. He's probably distraught right now and Yugi didn't look good either, but right now I need to be here. Yes, it's selfish and weak and all that bollocks that I couldn't really give a shit about right now, but I'm staying until I've done all that I can.

Tetsuo said that we could start worrying about the damage to the Puzzle itself once this, situation, had been taken care of. By Ra, even *he's* pussyfooting around the subject; afraid to use the words that I know are true in fear that I'll break like some dropped China Doll. He's the last person I would have expected this delicacy from.

My son is going to die for my daughter and I'm going to be the one who takes his essence apart into something that can be channelled. See? Easy to break down when you take a deep breath and accept fate.

I think I'm going to need a few more hours, or a millennia in here before I can actually do it though.//

****

"Any luck Yuug?" 

Joey shook her head slightly in frustration, exasperation and despair at the negative movement of his friend's head, the simple motion causing Seto's face to flicker once again. 

"He's just locked himself in there and I don't want to do anymore damage by forcing myself in," he shrugged helplessly, avoiding both of their eyes as he lowered his own to his interlocked hands on the table.

They were all at the Game Shop again, gathered around Yugi's kitchen as they waited for Yami to re-emerge. Honda was lent against the wall, Tea was sitting nervously on the counter top, Joey, Seto and Yugi were at the table and Ryou was stood in the doorway. Bakura was safely stowed away in the Ring where none of the others could get to him and tear out his vital organs, or worse.

"It's been four hours now. How long can he...? When is he going to accept it?" Honda asked softly from his position. 

Seto made a noise partway between a sigh and a growl, rising to his feet in one fluid motion and bringing ice down on the shorter teen as he brought their faces within inches of each other. "I don't think either one of us is going to just 'accept it'," he bit out before striding past Ryou and making his way out of the shop. Yugi was the first to respond, jumping to his feet and chasing after the CEO.

"Seto! Where are you going?" he called after the retreating figure.

"The office. I need to fire one of my secretaries or make someone bankrupt," came the response, Seto continuing on without breaking his stride or changing his posture.

Staring after him at a loss as to whether to follow him, drag him back or leave him be, Yugi chose to return indoors. Re-seating himself back at the table, his eyes fell half-lidded as he extended another tendril out to the Soul Room nestled inside the Puzzle, wincing a little at the heat radiating off of it. He was concerned about how badly the fall had injured Yami physically as well as the emotional and mental repercussions. 

Finding nothing but barriers and pain he ceased his efforts and fell back into the pattern that they had all fallen into for the last 3 and a half-hours.

Wait. Clock-check. Coffee. Wait. Exchange nervous glances. Coffee. Clock-check. Wait.

****

"Tetsuo?"

The name echoed off around the harrowing darkness as it the lone figure inside were trapped in a cave, which Yami figured he might as well have been. There was no longer comfort and respite in his Soul Room. None that could be found at the moment at the very least.

A flare of crimson in the wall of inky blackness illuminated his features briefly before the robed figure stepped forth, stopping a respectful distance from him and bowing his head in solemn acknowledgement. He would not get to his knees for the Pharaoh; his position was above that, but it didn't mean that he didn't respect the former King.

"You have decided then?"

Closing his eyes for a moment Yami gathered the courage to speak before daring to trust his voice. "Yes."

"And?" the Guardian asked, raising demon eyes from the dark floor and meeting the crimson eyes of his commander.

Yami sighed slightly before beginning to pace, only a short distance between the places where he turned on his heel and retraced his steps, but enough for the movement to be a distraction from his words.

"When I was Pharaoh, I knew that for the Kingdom to continue to function after the ruling King's death an heir had to exist. Times have changed since I was imprisoned here, but my way of thinking has not. Seto Kaiba is ruler of his own empire in this world, and despite the principles on which it is run and the way it shall be transferred to a new ruler's hands in the future have changed, although I do not sincerely see that happening, my ideals over how it would be taken command of after he relinquishes it have not." 

//When emotion clouds the mind turn to logic. It's blind and heartless but it makes things a damn-sight easier in circumstances such as these.//

Tetsuo nodded slightly as his eyes drifted away from the others up to the two figures hovering above the bed before snapping back again quickly. "Your son then? You would have us use your daughter to ensure your son's life?"

Stopping again Yami had to resist the urge to fist his hands in his hair and pull hard. "Yes," he ground out, sincerely wishing that Tetsuo would stop making him repeat this. "I will sacrifice my daughter for the sake of my son."

A slender brow quirked up at that, the movement of skin about the pale face causing the trickle of blood red symbols running down Tetsuo's cheeks to shift marginally before falling back into their normal arrangement. "Sacrifice? No, Yugioh. That isn't *quite* what will happen."

A glimmer of hope. Nothing big, in fact it was downright pathetic in size and the slightest slip in what could follow would destroy it instantly, but it was there. "What do you mean?"

It was no Tetsuo's turn to pace as he sought to find words to explain what could barely be explained. "To use your daughter's energies her very form must be broken down, but this does not mean that her essence will be destroyed. Nay, it will combine with your son and merely help him in much the same way as her energy will. A, combining of souls if you would."

"Like Yugi and myself," Yami muttered quietly, the statement not entirely aimed at Tetsuo nor a secret unto himself. Instead, a dawning realisation and understanding that loosened the knot in his gut and made breathing around his constricted heart easier.

"Exactly. It is not a simple process but with my own skills and your admittedly remarkably deep bonds with both of them, it should not be too difficult. Shall we begin? Or do you wish to inform the other party involved about what is to transpire."

"I should..."

"Remember that if you leave here, if only for a moment to deliver such a message, your son will be at even greater risk than before. I have already said that this is not a simple thing to do," Tetsuo warned, a finger raising sharply against the other to relay his point. Red on black eyes were narrowed slightly now, pinning Yami down in a gaze that was all seriousness.

"Let's just do this and then I can go comfort him. I just hope he doesn't blame me if I make a choice he is not happy with."

Tetsuo's eyes narrowed to fiery slits, the mere thought of his Master even considering regretting that his choice would be the wrong one. "It *is* your choice in the end. You have bore these children for some time, it is *your* body that they reside in, not his. It is *your* energies that will be drained here simply through the effort that this will require without your magic at hand. It is *you* who will feel the physical pain of the separation as well as the emotional. Do not feel undue guilt unless another forms a reason for guilt to be due. If he is not happy, there will be little that either of you can do about it and if he is worthy of your attentions, he will tell you of such displeasure honestly."

Blinking a few times at the end of that speech, Yami was only partially sure that is was meant to be reassuring, the Game King shook his head slightly to clear it before setting his jaw firm and nodding to show that he was ready.

Returning the gesture with a grim smile, Tetsuo moved to the end of the bed and ushered Yami to step up onto it, the furniture serving to accommodate their differences in height. Copying the other spirit, Yami lifted his hands up until they touched and then passed into his daughter's physical representation 

Clamping his eyes shut and biting his lower lip hard, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder before feeling an energy that was not his own coursing through him. Wielding it to his will, he focussed it through his hands and began. He felt no reverberations of pain from the child, something that he was exceedingly grateful for as he was positive that he would not have been able to continue if he had hurt her in the process.

Instead her form was becoming a whisper, a simple presence that had no more weight that mist. Feeling his head start to throb and his skin tingling, Yami gasped in a breath before sending the collection of energy and essence into the remaining child, feeling his son absorbing it all hungrily after both he and Tetsuo breached the physical barrier. 

It seemed like an eternity before the healing felt anywhere near completion, limbs trembling and lights flickering behind his lids as his strength was drained. He felt his knees give out and opened his eyes in alarm, blackness nibbling at the edges of his vision. He would have fallen away if Tetsuo's hand wasn't firmly secured on his shoulder holding up his weight with slender fingers and a smooth palm.

The Guardian, unlike Yami had been, had his eyes open, unfocused though they were as he took over most of their shared effort. Yami's arms had seized up at some point, being held in the mist and light above him, so despite how weak he felt he couldn't help but continue to pour what strength he had left to give into fully healing his son. 

Tetsuo released him without warning and he found his hands free also, falling back against the bad and nearly blacking out from the mixed relief of it. Both hands now moving to the shapeless mass, the markings flowing erratically down the bare arms disconnected and lashed outwards to form a cocoon about it, contracting it, shaping it, sealing it.

After a few moments the markings vanished into nothing and new ones had replaced them on Tetsuo's arms, the taller figure moving to sit on the edge of the bed displaying a weariness that looked entirely alien about him.

"It is done. Forgive me Yugioh but I desire to rest now. We shall discuss what needs to be done about the Puzzle in due course. Now is, simply not the appropriate time," he explained, eyes turning slowly to meet the other's hooded gaze. Part of the spirit was surprised, and impressed, that Yami was still awake.

Yami tried to wave a hand vaguely but only succeeded in twitching his fingers in what he hoped was an understanding gesture before his eyes rolled and he succumbed to the darkness that was so overwhelmingly inviting.

"Rest your body and spirit now Young Pharaoh, for I fear that to repair the Puzzle, you shall need all the strength that you can acquire."

With those unheard, parting words Tetsuo rose painstakingly to his feet before closing his eyes with a small sigh and retreating back to his own plane of existence, leaving a wisp of red in his wake. Over the bed, the son watched anxiously over the father who lay utterly exhausted upon black silken sheets.

****

Borath: Review. See? No where near as bitchy as I was last chapter!

Yami: (Blinks. Re-reads. Taps the screen. Blinks again. Left eye begins to twitch.) I cannot believe you did that to me!!!

Bakura: Dealing with the angst, anger and crap next chapter and then it's back to humour. Borath says 'sorry' for those of you who have been pissed at these previous few chapters' darker themes.

Borath: As you can tell updates are going to be coming in quite erratically so bear with me here. I have no idea when Chapter 24 is going to be out as I haven't started writing in and I'm not totally sure about the details of the content, so don't hold your breaths.

Yami: Review and make her stop!!! Please!


	24. Broken

Borath: Right. Any of you who expected me to hang around in this 'serious-phase' (shudders) long enough to have that whole 'healing' bollocks between Yami and Seto are going to be sadly mistaken.

Yami: No time.

Bakura: Even less energy.

Borath: I got down-right abusive about this fact in Chapter 22's opening paragraphs so you have been for-warned. Anyone who has read any of my other stuff (cough-Submission-cough) will know that I get pretty deep when dealing with angst-

Bakura: (Without any pretense.) Freak.

Yami: Bitch. I can't believe you did all of that to me in that fic as well as this in this fic.

Borath: SO I won't be focussing on this 'baby-gone-bye-bye' issue for much more than 3 more pages. If you wanted this topic to be taken seriously and had your hopes up about it then you shouldn't have expected it from me. Go read either 'Grave' or 'Submission' if you want dark, deep, emotional crap.

Bakura: She's only saying all this because she wants you to read them.

Yami: She lost many good reviews.

Bakura: She is pissed.

Borath: You don't know what I've gotten planned for you next so don't get sarcastic with me.

Yami/Bakura: Planned for which of us?

Borath: (Smiles)

Chapter 24: Broken

YVO

//Urgh, what century is it? My head hurts a lot, and the fact that the memories of the events of the last few hours have just started returning is not helping at all. I can feel through the bond that Yugi is near to tears with worry; I think he sensed something was happening inside of my Soul Room, despite the barricades I locked in place to prevent him from entering.

I'm not sure how long I have been asleep but the time that I was resting has allowed some of my strength to be restored. I don't think I'm up to tackling a Dance-Dance-Revolution just yet but I'm feeling stronger.

A quick check on the child hovering above the middle of my bed has assured me that he is healthy and happy now, energies throbbing around and inside him in a reassuring manner. I feel better with the knowledge that my daughter's spirit has been melded with my son's rather than being lost completely, but the consequences of such an action leave me with a larger headache just thinking about it.

Two souls. One body. Where do this sound familiar? Will the relationship be similar to hikari and yami or will their personalities simply be combined to form a hybrid? Urgh. My head hurts again.

I'm strong enough to leave here now and with Tetsuo's words I'm coping with this loss fairly well, but I fear having to tell Seto. How in the Seven Hells am I supposed to tell a father than I've effectively wiped out one of his children? I know that that isn't *exactly* what happened but I doubt Seto is going to be in any mood to heed logic should I even try to explain.

At least I haven't truly lost a child through all of this; not truly. She still exists within my son so there has been no great tragedy. But I'm still scared to leave this Puzzle.//

****

"I'm going to talk ta Kaiba," Joey announced suddenly, breaking the tense silence that had bestowed the group after Yugi had said that he had felt something going on inside the Puzzle. It was likely too much to hope that it was the recuperation of both children and the tension had grown unbearable.

Yugi nodded vaguely at the teen before watching her leave the room and head out of the shop, both knowing that no solid plan had been concocted to deal with the temperamental CEO. Seto was touchy after losing a Duel. How was he going to react to this?

Minutes after Joey's departure the Puzzle glowed fiercely before Yami was deposited behind Yugi, instantly leaning on the back of the chair his Hikari was sat in with a groan. //Oh yeah, I cracked two vertebrae. I wonder how badly I broke Bakura's wrist...//

"Yami?!"

"What happened?" 

"Is everything alright?" 

"Why were you in there so long?"

"I was worried!"

Quirking a brow at the barrage of concerned questions that were immediately lobbed at him, Yami gave them a small reassuring smile before starting towards the door, hell-bent on finding Seto and breaking the news to him. A vein of white fire up his spine made him reconsider this halfway through the first step. //Should my vision be doing that?//

"Hey, Yami? I think you should stay here for a bit before you find Kaiba. You know, until you're not so white anymore," Honda suggested seeing that the Game King looked like he was about to faint. "You can call him on his cell in a bit."

Nodding slightly in agreement to that suggestion, mostly due to the fact that he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to walk for a bit let alone face Seto, Yami leant back in one of the chairs that had been offered him. Placing one hand across his stomach under the table and the other in his hair, he took a breath before starting to even begin to explain what had just transpired.

The pain seemed to be ebbing away slowly and he suspected that Tetsuo had initiated a weak charm to repair the minor damage. The spirit couldn't cast anything powerful, particularly after the power drain a little while ago, but Yami was immensely grateful all the same. 

****

Four hours and numerous crying spells later, all of which Yami was relieved to note were not his, the Game King found himself back at the mansion alone. Yugi had left minutes ago after repeated assurances from him that he would be fine, taking Mokuba with him so that he and Seto would have some space when he came home.

Joey had apparently disappeared off the face of the planet with him, but Yami wasn't overly concerned about that. Whatever they were doing was probably going to make things easier for himself and Seto later. 

He had called her a little while ago and relayed the details to Joey so that she could break the news to the other teen gently. It had taken a good half-hour to get the entire story relayed and fully explained but Joey seemed to understand and promised that she would do everything she could to calm Seto down before she brought him back home. Yami was content to sit back and wait. 

And perhaps break something to pass the time and anxiety.

It was midnight when Seto finally did come home, well, stumble is probably a more accurate description of his *attempt* to walk. Joey tailed him and shut the door behind her, watching the older teen wander silently into the kitchen before turning eyes on Yami.

"God, I'm so sorry," she said wholeheartedly as she approached him slowly. Yami nodded stiffly to acknowledge the sentiment before tipping his head towards the kitchen.

"Oh, Kaiba? Me and him went out 'round a few places. Drinkin' mostly. Well, he drunk and ah listened. Kiara is with the sitter. He gave her to her 'fore he left and she took her home. I already called; she's fine. Figured it would be best if you two were on your own tonight."

"Yes. Thank you Joey. I'll, see you tomorrow," Yami replied tiredly, not really sure if he wanted to know the details of what the pair had talked about and done in addition to drinking. Joey was walking with a slight limp so it was obvious that they had taken out some frustration in a scuffle. 

"Yeah. Don' worry 'bout me. I'll sleep at Yuug's tonight. Call if ya need anything, alright?"

"Alright."

After escorting her to the door, Yami hovered on the threshold for a moment before steeling his resolve and shutting it, heading back inside the house and striding into the kitchen. He entered quietly before leaning against the cabinets beside the sink. Seto was stood next to the fridge eating something. 

Frowning when he found that he couldn't identify the food article, Yami asked, "what are you eating?"

Seto didn't even look at him. "Lard."

Now, Yami knew what that was and from the way Seto was grimacing as he chewed, well, *moved* the substance around his mouth, it was obvious that it wasn't the most pleasant thing to eat on its own. "You are eating, *lard*?"

"Yes, well I'm hungry but I'm too drunk to cook."

Nodding slowly Yami walked over and took the solid fat off of him, using a knife to cut off a slice and dumping it into a pan on the stove. Kneeling next to the fridge he foraged for a bit before producing some fish, standing again and showing it to him by way of an offering.

At the grunt of approval, Yami flicked the stove on before finally facing the other properly. "So what did you do tonight?"

Seto sighed as he scrubbed a hand through his air that looked to be in even more disarray than it usually was. Dropping into a chair around the table he looked at Yami seemingly trying to recall the memories. "Well, first Joey talked. A lot. Then we went out and killed some brain-cells. Then I talked a lot. Then she hit me and I shoved her. Then we drank some more. And then we came back here."

Yami shook his head slowly in wry amusement. "I just don't understand you mortals."

"'T worked," Seto shrugged back offhandedly before turning his attention to his hands, seemingly fascinated with his fingernails. 

Smiling wryly, Yami absently dropped the fish into the pan and crossed his arms over his chest, ignoring the soft fizzling and spitting sound coming from behind. "Are you okay?"

A long pause. "No." Yet another pause, one which Yami was prepared to scream through just to break that dreadful tension. "I will be though. You?"

"I'm okay." Exhaling softly another thought occurred to Yami, one that needed to be addressed and would take the focus off of this current topic. "The Puzzle's broken."

Seto looked up then, eyes wide and brows raised. "I think you should tell me about that when I'm-"

"-Sober? I agree."

"Lard doesn't taste very good."

"No it doesn't."

"It feels worse. I think there's a film on my teeth now."

"Then you're getting absolutely no comfort off of me tonight."

"Damnit."

*****

It was noon when Yugi and the gang dared to approach the house the next day, knocking tentatively on the door and smiling supportively up at Seto when he opened it for them. Finding his brother wrapped around the vicinity of his knees and Kiara clinging desperately to his neck, it was little wonder that it took them all a while to get inside.

"How's Yami doin'?" Joey asked first, sitting down opposite Seto and Mokuba who had managed to peel himself off his elder brother.

"Alright. He got up a little while ago and he's in the shower now; I think all that magic using drained him pretty badly. Has he told you about the Puzzle yet?"

Many pairs of eyes turned on him very quickly and Seto sincerely wished that he hadn't spoken. "I'll take that as 'no'. Listen, I don't fully understand it so let's wait for him to come down and explain it properly, alright?"

Yugi scowled at him lightly. "You've got me worried now."

"From what I *did* understand, I think you should be."

And on *that* happy note everyone sat around in silence until they heard the water shut off, Kiara seemingly sensing that her other father was going to be joining them shortly and proceeded to bounce up and down in Yugi's lap excitedly. The all blinked in surprise when Yami came down the stairs wrapped in a towel and stalked into the kitchen without so much as looking at them.

"Are you sure he's alright?" Tea asked quietly, casting Yugi and Seto a worried look before looking back towards the kitchen.

Seto quirked a brow at her. "He's still pregnant if you've forgotten. *That* was normal *last* week."

"I'll go and say 'hi' to him. Let 'im know that we're 'ere," Joey stated before standing, obviously with a death-wish, and walking into the kitchen.

Stepping inside she found Yami with his back to her standing against the sink, obviously trying to open something before placing the tin on the work surface and beginning to hunt through the cupboards for clean cutlery. Stretching up is not a good thing to do whilst wearing a towel.

Retrieving a bowl from the top shelf, Yami put a hand to the towel at his hip and turned around, promptly jumping back against the cabinets and dropping the dish. "Don't *do* that," he growled out, rubbing his now-free hand over his chest to slow his heart down to a rate that was somewhere near acceptable.

Joey smirked as she knelt down and handed the bowl back up to the teen, not missing the scowl and taking a few steps back to avoid getting hit with something. The towel had slipped a little when Yami had jumped in fright though, and she just couldn't resist the temptation. 

Actually it would have been a crime to let it slip.

"Are those stretch-marks?" Joey asked innocently, a hint of a smile playing and her brow furrowing minutely as she supposedly leaned forward again to get a better look.

Yami turned purple, snarled and promptly threw the open tin of rice pudding at her head. 

Ducking the can but not the contents, Joey grabbed a damp dishcloth off of the side as she ran out again and moved to stand at the opposite end of the couch to the kitchen, putting both it and the Kaiba brothers between herself and the pissed off Game King.

"He knows we're all here," she announced as she started to work the pudding out of her hair. 

****

Ten minutes later, stomach full of a new batch of rice pudding and the former batch safely washed away out of the blonde's hair, Yami dropped himself down on the couch between Seto and Mokuba. The later instantly swapped places with Yugi so that the hikari could snuggle into his Dark, cherubic face burying into he taller form's shirt before pulling away slightly.

Returning the hug equally, Yami narrowed his eyes menacingly at Joey one more time before leaning forward onto his knees. Joey didn't look too scared; death threats towards her had become something of a common occurrence from him now, and he had yet to carry one out entirely.

"A new problem has come up," he began smoothly, casting crimson eyes about the room before bringing them to rest on Yugi at his side. "The Puzzle is damaged."

"What? How bad? Is it serious?" came the instant reply, large violet eyes welling up with fear for his Dark half.

"It is serious, as the last few days has shown. Tetsuo, a Guardian from the Shadow Realm, filled me in on the details last night whilst I was sleeping; the boundaries between this world and the Shadow Realm are naturally weaker at night so he was able to communicate with me then. He said that the Magical Conduits had been damaged to the extent where it is imperative that I get them repaired."

"Hang on a sec- the what?" That was Joey. And her confusion. 

"The Magical Conduits. It's a little like piping; what my magic goes through when I use it. They've been strained for the last year and now have been damaged to the degree that I cannot use my magic at all. Not even to help you, Aibou. I'm completely powerless until they are fixed."

"And that's a bad thing," Honda stated flatly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to sum up how much crap the three people opposite him have had to put up with over the last year.

"Yes. There is a way to fix the damage; if I take the Puzzle to the place where all the Items were created I should be able to repair them without too much difficulty. Tetsuo assured me that he would be able to manifest himself there to help as I once summoned him in that location when I was Pharaoh," Yami explained, shrugging marginally to signal that all the information that he possessed had now been dispersed to the group and that he knew squat other than that.

"So," Ryou asked from behind Mokuba. "Where are we going?"

Yami actually smiled at that, something that somehow made everyone feel very nervous as well as reassured. "We're going to Egypt."

*****

Borath: Long chapter. Love me. Praise me. Review me. And we're heading back to humour! Yay! Out of the phase! Thank you for coming through it with me if it was hard to bear!

Bakura: Joy. Now we all get to skip continent, right? Or am I staying in Japan?

Yami: (Consulting computer screen) Nope, you're coming too! Borath is only leaving the characters that she can't be arsed to write for anymore behind. Cool. No Tea to name one.

Borath: Review me because I skipped homework for three nights to get this chapter done. (Titters) I am far too loyal to you people. I have so much to do over the weekend now... (sighs)

Bakura: Next chapter... (Switching to sarcasm and right eye twitching slightly) Egypt! Camels! Pyramids! 

Yami: (Deadpanned) We are surely going to die.


	25. Travels

Borath:  Be proud!  I updated!  I'm working on a different computer because mine is still busted (snarls) but I did it!!!   Squee! Bakura: (Scowls) 

Yami: (Arms crossed looking pissed)

Borath:  They're on strike.  They refuse to work for me now that 'Experiment' has them as a couple.  

Bakura:  (Muttering) At least I'm still evil in it.

Yami: Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that.  You've corrupted me in it you Baka.

Borath: (Ignoring them) I wrote this in about a dozen sittings so style, spelling-ability (what little I have) and general crappiness will vary throughout.  (Shrugs) I haven't checked this either and don't intend to.  If I left it to be checked it likely wouldn't be posted for another week.  Don't point out my mistakes, over-exaggerate praise and I'll be happy.  Updates will be when I manage them (school and homicide are becoming the same thing) but there's only two chapters left so bear with me.

Chapter 25: Travels 

"Egypt?" Yugi echoed, frowning up at Yami slightly.  Egypt was a very long way away from Japan...

"I'm afraid so.  There is nowhere else in the world where I can get the Puzzle repaired and I have no choice *but* to go," Yami replied with a slight shrug.  Truthfully he wasn't too sure how this idea sat with him; pleased that he could go back to his homeland or anxious about having to travel such a distance whilst carrying a child.  Kiara would have to stay behind of course.

"Well you're not going on your own.  I'm coming too," Seto stated flatly from his side.  Yami hadn't actually expected anything else from him.

But the fact that he *did* need some of his friends accompanying him on this trip needed to be sorted out, and someone needed to stay behind and look after Kiara whilst he and Seto were out of the country with those who did come.   This was going to be interesting…

****

YVO

//Well, it took us an hour but we've finally decided who's coming and who's staying.  I anticipate that this little excursion is going to take about a week so that has been a determining factor in that some people are going to have to miss school.

Anyway, those who are coming along on this merry little romp are;

Me** – I'm the one with the busted Magical Conduits so it's a *bit* necessary that I *do* participate.**

Yugi –My hikari.  Package deal.

Joey – He is currently a girl and thanks to my meddling, which probably contributed to breaking the puzzle even further, should only remain one for another week.  Fixing the puzzle might have an effect on the magic that I used on her so she needs to come incase it all goes to Hades.

Seto – Father of the child and my companion.  He insisted that he was coming and is the one buying the plane tickets. 

Bakura – As much as I hate to admit it, I don't remember the temples well and as he stole from them once he's going along as a guide.  I'm setting aside my profound hatred for him and the fact that he was *ever * in my temple for the sake of my son.  He is also under strict instructions to be good.  Yeah right.  Like *that'll* ever happen.

Ryou– Bakura's hikari.  Another package deal and someone remotely sane needs to be tagging along.

Those who are being left behind;

Tea – She is looking after Kiara when the sitter can't. 

Honda – Keeping an eye on Tea looking after Kiara.  

Mai – She's shopping.  And helping with Kiara.  She has Shadow Magic at her disposal so she really does need a lot of attention.  

Mokuba – it's totally pointless for him to come and Seto insists that he go to school.  He stays.

So, the plane leaves tonight and we should be in Egypt, given the time on the pane and some weird time zone rule, thing, we should be in my old homeland tomorrow afternoon.  I think. 

Thinking about all this time stuff is really hurting my head, and I'm very nervous about going onto the flying contraption and putting my life and that of my friends and family into some engines.  Ra I hope I live long enough to even *see* Egypt. //

**** Later ****

//I have decided that I *hate* planes.  Flying is not something that I am accustomed to at the best of times, and with all the strange looks I was receiving due to my 'condition' I was extremely nervous.  Still, the evil contraption landed safely and we all disembarked without too many incidents.

I anticipate that I should only be at the temple for a day at the most and wanted to get this thing done as quickly as possible, Seto voted to head straight there instead of resting at a hotel and then going.  I collapsed into a head pretty much instantaneously when we all piled into the large vehicle to set off across the dunes in.

I'm pleased to see that my homeland is still the same as I vaguely remember it, although the Great Pyramids are a different colour.  I distinctly remembering them having white surface tiles when I had mine built but no matter.  Not everything can survive the ravages of time as best as I have.  Yes, I am smug about the fact that I have been preserved so well for 5000+ years of age.  I do need *some* bit of light to cling to on this trip.  

Seto's a nervous wreck and Yugi doesn't look too good.  I wouldn't trust Bakura with anything that could be remotely dangerous and Joey is depressed.  Again.  Ryou is just, well, Ryou; taking in the sites and keeping his head down.

Lucky sod.//

****

Sand.  Tree.  Sand.  Pyramid.  Sand bloody sand.  

It continued along this merry trend for three hours before the Temple they needed appeared as a spec of darkness in the distance against the stark landscape.  Bakura's memory had remained intact unlike Yami's even after being imprisoned in the Ring so it was a simple matter for him to recall the direction and distance they needed to travel.

The general mood was boredom, the wonders of Egypt quickly forgotten when all the exciting bits got repetitive, so the passengers of the car where either dozing, staring bleakly into space or reading the handful of leaflets that were grabbed from the airport before Seto could get the car.

"Why are there so many secret passageways into the Tombs?" Yugi asked curiously, looking up from the page he was looking at with probably more interest than he would have granted it should the circumstances had been different.  Bakura snorted from his position of leaning against the window.

"To try and stop people like me from finding them and stealing the bootie.  Not that it ever worked for the more, experienced, thieves such as myself."

Yami cracked his eyes open a little at the oily voice, rolling them slightly and deciding not to comment on that as Bakura's knowledge of the Temple was extremely important on this trip of theirs.  Snapping his eyes back open again instantly when he realized that he had recognized the image on the front of his Aibou's leaflet, he reached over and plucked the folded paper neatly out of his hand.  

Staring at the picture on the front, he felt a twinge lance through his skull as the memory was triggered and eventually unlocked, grinning when he could identify it properly.  "This is my Temple!"

"Wha'?"

Ignoring the dozing blond teen Yami squirmed a little in the seat and hastily flicked through the leaflet, scouring for information on his former home.  He was ecstatic that it was still standing and, apparently, still famous.

His happiness was short-lived when he found the appropriate paragraph though.  "My temple is a *tourist attraction*?!  I feel so, violated."

Bakura stared at him levelly for all of two seconds before he dissolved into manic laughter, waking Ryou and Joey fully and getting himself clipped round the back of the head.  A snarl in the blond teen's direction notified her that if she ever tried that again, very bad things would happen. 

Yugi took pity though and placed a sympathetic hand on his Dark's shoulder whilst Yami gaped in shocked outrage at the offensive page.  Seto glanced over his shoulder from the driver's seat and restrained a smile, reaching back and rubbing a hand on his lover's knee before returning it to the steering wheel.

"We'll be there in about ten minuets," he warned, shifting his shoulders slightly as the aches from being immobile for the last three hours made themselves impossibly more prominent. 

Frowning again at the fact that, due to sod's law, he had just gotten comfortable and was being made to move, Yami shoved himself upright in the seat and watched the temple as it grew larger in the windscreen.  Finally it loomed infront of them, a dark, towering structure of ornately carved black stone that appeared as if it had been unopened for centuries, which in all probability it hadn't.  

Piling out of the car, Joey at once started whining about the heat for the millionth time about the heat, and despite being uncomfortably hot himself Yami had promised himself that he wouldn't give Bakura the satisfaction of complaining openly about it. 

"Right.  Bakura, you're the wise-ass here.  How exactly do we get in?" Seto asked after looking the structure up and down and seeing nothing but an impenetrable stone fortress.

Cocking a slender brow at him, the platinum-haired spirit strode to the wall and knelt in the sand, digging the hot material away from the wall until there was a pit a good foot deep.  The others, having no idea what he was up to, stayed back and watched. 

After a few minutes he seemed to have gotten to what he wanted, his face contorting as he reached down and worked his arm down the pit.  There was a loud click and he stepped back, watching with satisfaction as the area of stone infront of them began to vibrate, the sound of stone grinding against itself filling the air.

A panel of the wall a meter wide and three tall rose up into itself, the opening revealing the walls to be almost a meter thick themselves.  Everyone stared apprehensively into the inky blackness that had been revealed to them.

//Great.  Looks like I'm being the leader yet again.//

Sighing slightly to himself, Yami stepped into the doorway and instantly felt the temperature plummet to what could only be described as cool.  His eyes weren't allowing him to see any further than the few inches infront of his face so he hesitantly put another foot forward.

Jumping when rows of torches running along the walls suddenly exploded into life, Yami flashed a reassuring smile over his shoulder before heading down the narrow corridor.  Bakura crossed his arms over his chest with a dour expression and followed, Seto, Yugi, Ryou and Joey tailing them all at the back.

After ten minutes of 'which way now's and 'stupid Pharaoh's, the maze of passageways spat them out into a cavernous hall which, from the slope they had been walking down, seemed to be buried beneath the temple itself.

A stone later held pride place in the center of the otherwise barren room, the walls decorated from floor to high ceiling with hieroglyphics.  Everyone but Yami and Bakura stood for a few moments staring at the sight in awe, the torches littering the room casting dancing shadows about them.  Bakura was content to watch Yami intently as the Game King moved towards the alter.

Standing with his stomach lightly brushing the cold stone, Yami cast his eyes up and down it before using his sleeve to remove the film of dust from the surface.  A small, rectangular, imbedded shape was revealed to be in the center of the alter, and after a moments thought, he produced the required card from his deck and slid it into place.  

He was used to seeing Tetsuo materialize inside his Soul Room, but for everyone else present, seeing the tattooed, lavender haired creature emerge from a mist of crimson smoke was quite a surprise.  Standing with the tips of his robes skimming the surface of the alter, Tetsuo glanced around the room to take in the various faces before settling demon eyes on his Master himself.  Smiling faintly, he tipped his head to him and folded his hands at his stomach.

"I'm glad you were so expedient in arriving here, Yugioh.  It is important that we begin this as soon as possible," he stated flatly, his attention solely focussed on the spirit standing beneath him.

"I agree," Yami replied solemnly.  Swallowing heavily, he looked over his shoulder at the collection of people watching him from behind before returning his eyes to the charismatic creature.  "How exactly will this work?  Is it safe for my family and friends to remain with me?"

Calculating eyes flickered over the occupants of the room again before Tetsuo nodded.  "It is a simple process, and I will do everything I can to ensure that it goes smoothly.  The final moulds that the Millennium Items were forged in are beneath this alter.  Simply removed your Puzzle and insert it into the correct slot.  As you are bonded to the Item on a spiritual level you will feel some discomfort but it will only be momentarily.  The conduits will have been restored to their former strength within an hour."

"We stay then," Seto confirmed flatly, his tone stating that there was no discussion to be had there.  Smiling at him appreciatively, Yami searched everyone's faces to check if they were willing to stay in this chamber for that long and aside from the bored expression Bakura wore, it was clear that no one was going to be moved.

Tetsuo broke the moment.  "Understand this Yugioh; there are some risks involved in this."

His head snapping back around to the other, Yami narrowed his eyes and gave him his full attention.  He couldn't risk harming his friends or the child.  He refused to.  "What do you mean?"

"To repair the conduits the magic inside will need to be cleansed.  It's a similar process to wiping a computer before reloading the programs.  And yes, I worked for Pegasus long enough to know that that is an appropriate analogy," he continued with a wry smile, looking faintly irritated that he actually knew such things.

"So I'll lose my memories?" Yami asked carefully, dreading an affirmative answer.  It had taken him years to gather the tiniest morsels of information from his past, and he didn't want to lose it.  Nor did he wish to forget that the last two years had ever happened.

"No, *you* will remain intact.  It is only the magic inside the Puzzle that will be affected by this.  But therein lies the problem."

Eyes narrowed to crimson slits, Yami had to reel in his temper to keep his voice level.  Fear was already nibbling at his heart and Tetsuo's infuriating habit of skirting the information required was not helping his mood.  "Explain."

"I was about to" came the cool reply.  "When the Puzzle has been repaired it will instantly send out a burst of magic to repair any and all damage that has been done either *by* it or to *you*.  The Nyannichuan curse will be affected in this way; the magic in the Puzzle decided that it was a threat to you and slowly repelled the curse last time.  Because the Puzzle was slowly being weakened from various factors it was unable to throw off the curse entirely like it should have.  Instead, the change back to your male form was only cosmetic, as I have explained to you before.

"Once repaired the Puzzle is going to have a burst of magical energy which it is going to use to repel the curse completely, and all by-products after.  To put it shortly, you will likely lose your son.  But there is a way around this; in this place my powers are greatly amplified and it would not be difficult to accelerate his growth to the degree that he could be born healthy if the need arises.  

"The burst will also mean that Joey will be returned to his normal gender, and it will be physically impossible for you to bear another child in your life," he finished in a slightly softer tone although his voice was still authoritative. 

Deciding not to think about the last parts of that speech, Yami shook his head slightly in confusion.  All of this information being thrown at him at once was really making his head hurt.  "I *thought* you said that that part of the curse would last forever."

"I *did*.  I also *thought* that the Puzzle was not damaged to the extent where it would need repairing.  But you surprised me by messing around with the curse that was put on Joey and starting to produce twins.  A child in a body where it is not meant to be is an enormous energy drain, particularly on an Item.  They were not designed to deal with these sorts of stresses.  They were served to perform their own services to their captured yamis and to aid in protecting the hikaris.  You pushed your Item too hard, too fast and too much."

//Great.  On top of all that I'm also being scolded.//

"What will happen to Yami whilst the Puzzle is being repaired?" Seto spoke up from behind, stepping forward slightly as he approached the alter and Yami.  When Tetsuo showed no signs of being irritated by the closing distance, he continued with less hesitation and stood at his lover's side.

"Yugioh will still exist in the physical realm.  His source of power will be cut off so in all likelihood he will lose consciousness, but in this way he will be spared any discomfort," Tetsuo replied smoothly.

"And the child?" Seto pressed, his eyes hardening as his face became more intent.

Held in suspension by my own powers.  Yugioh, after this I must ask you, if you would be so kind, to not call for my services for a good many days.  The next hour, I fear, shall be extremely strenuous and some time to recuperate would be greatly accepted."

"Tetsuo," Yami began with a slight smile.  "If you can do this I'll have a shrine made for you in the Shadow Realm."

A snort of laughter before the monster crouched down, his robes pooling about his feet and then his knees when he lowered himself fully.  "Unnecessary but I appreciate the sentiment.  Now, if you would insert the Puzzle we shall begin.  Bakura, if I were not performing so many activities at once I would offer to take on your Ring to straighten the alignment of it's power conduits.  I can sense from here that you have been misusing it on occasion."

Turning to face the aforementioned Tomb Raider with a quirked brow, Yami was oddly satisfied to see the pale teen blush heavily and scowl at the bemused spirit kneeling atop the alter.

Remembering what he was doing, Yami brought his hands up and lifted away the heavy Puzzle, his neck instantly feeling cold as the comforting weight of the cord was lost.  Probing the shadows beneath the rectangular stone slab that comprised the surface of the alter, he identified the correct slot and gently pushed the Puzzle inside, running his hand over the smooth join between the stone and the metal, the cord hanging limply against the slab and bushing against the dusty floor.

Straightening slowly, Yami jumped slightly in surprise when Tetsuo placed a large hand squarely on his stomach without warning, demon eyes closing as he focused.  There was nothing for a second and then blinding pain, a heat like no other exploding out of the point beneath the spirit's palm outwards through his body.

Grunting slightly, Yami barely registered hands gripping his shoulders as he braced himself against the alter, knuckles turning white.  The pain stayed constant and intense until blackness spotted his vision and he finally succumbed to the beckoning void.

Catching the limp figure as he slumped forward against Tetsuo, Seto glared up accusingly, face taunt with worry.  Yugi had scampered to his Dark's side now also, lifting one of the slender arms about his shoulders to help support some of his now increased weight.

"My apologies.  I thought it would take longer for him to lapse into unconsciousness.  If you would lay him down and amuse yourselves quietly now as I work, I would be most grateful," the lavender haired creature spoke sternly before bringing his hand back to himself and dipping his head low against his chest.  

Seto and Yugi stared at the still figure in shock before glancing down in unison to Yami's form.  Seto knelt down and gathered him in his arms, carrying him back to the group where he sat against the smooth wall and arranged him so that his head was pillowed in his lap.  Glancing up at Yugi with concern over how pale the Game King's complexion had turned, he watched as the smaller boy took a seat at Yami's feet and cast his eyes back to Tetsuo.

The monster's eyes closed once again, everything remained still and quiet until a deep thrumming could be heard.  Building in volume and speed, soon it was a constant drone that seemed to rattle the very air around them.  The Puzzle glowed fiercely from where it was encased in stone, the glow oozing out to encompass the alter in its entirety before fading to a light that was more comfortable to observe.

Tetsuo glowed with it, emotionless and frozen as the energies hummed about his form, flashing brighter on the scars on his face and the markings running down his arms and cheeks.  The droning lessened until silence returned, the soft light remaining constant and warming the air gently. 

Bakura, leant against the wall with his hands thrust into his pockets, summed up the situation most eloquently.  "Cool."

****

Awareness returned slowly and with it the notice of multiple weights.  First was the restored mass of the Puzzle against his chest, the second felt comforting and yet disturbing at the same time as it pressed down on his pelvis and internal organs, the last being the arm that was across his collarbone.  Shifting a little against the warm body he was leant against, Yami felt the third of those weights snap away and he opened his eyes curiously.

"Yami?  Are you okay?" Yugi asked, huge violet eyes moving into his field of vision.

Nodding slightly, Yami glancing around himself once Yugi's face retracted from above him, catching site of the now-male Joey crouched against the wall opposite him with his head between his knees.  Ryou was stood above him running a soothing hand over his shoulders as the blond groaned.

"Joey puked when he changed back," Bakura stated bluntly, strolling over from his own corner to stare down at Yami who was still led in Seto's lap.  Poking his side slightly with the tip of his boot, he looked back to Yami's face looking fairly amused.  "You look like you're going to pop Pharaoh."

Frowning for a second, realization took a few moments to click in his fuzz-filled mind before Yami smiled slightly in relief.  //I'd forgotten about that.//  Looking down at his stomach, it was if his gaze had been a trigger.  Muscles rippled warningly and Yami's eyes widened in alarm as he recognized the sensation all-too-quickly.

Rolling his eyes, Bakura took a step back to give him more room.  "Come on.  There's a town a few miles south of here.  Should be a midwife or summut there, 'though I have no idea how you're going to be able to explain that."

Nodding slightly in worry-tinted agreement, Seto shifted himself around before helping Yami to his feet.  The pains weren't close enough together or strong enough to hinder Yami's movement just yet but he didn't want to stay in the bowels of the Temple long enough to allow them to become an obstacle.  

He, Yugi and Seto made their way back to the entrance of the huge room with Ryou and Joey following slowly behind them, the blonde's steps a little unstable even as he leant against the platinum-haired teen.  Bakura stood staring after them for a few seconds before casting his eyes back to the quiet alter, Tetsuo having vanished once the conduits had repaired and the Puzzle returned to Yami by Yugi.

"Hey idiot Pharaoh, you left-," he began to call before reconsidering his actions.  Shaking his head with a rueful smile, he took a final glance around the room before following the rest of the group into the darkness of the corridor.

***

Ryou had wielded to the universal decision to take over driving when all attempts to pry Yami's fingers from around Seto's hand failed miserably, the white-haired teen trying to block his ears from the curses of bloody murder from the former-Pharaoh that had his yami cracking up.   Bakura had gone back into the Ring for the simple need for space now that Yami was being held down in a joint effort by both Yugi and Seto, Yugi leaning down on his Dark's legs to prevent him from curling into a ball and Seto pressing down on his chest for the same purpose.

Joey was in the passenger seat trying his damndest to navigate in the desert, which remarkably enough looks pretty much the same on all sides, squinting furiously at a very unhelpful map in his lap.  Ryou was doing most of the directional work; operating off of the instructions that Bakura managed to get out amidst laughter at the unfortunate three in the back.  He had still 'neglected' to inform them that Tetsuo was still in the Temple, and likely very pissed off by now.

Twenty minutes away from their desired destination and it suddenly became painfully apparent that Kiara's little brother was as impatient as she had been.  The words 'stakes', 'cobra' and 'camel shit' had mixed into the breathless mantra of curses and threats that the Game King was shooting at the brunette, Seto having the grace to nod and not complain about the fact that he couldn't feel most of his hand anymore.

The town finally came into view as a hazy spot on the horizon, a depressing distance away but joyously there all the same.  Then, as if the Gods had deemed that the group hadn't suffered enough, the worst possible thing happened.

The engine groaned, coughed and then proceeded to splutter out of existence.  Rolling to the bottom of the dune they had been traversing, the car sank a few inches into the sand and then ceased to move at all.  There was an audible thump as Ryou's forehead connected with the steering wheel and a very pitiful sound from Joey.

Yami, however, seemed intent to overcome the fact that the car had stopped moving.  "Sod it; I'll walk," he growled out, shoving himself up off of Seto and using his boot to get the door open. 

Yugi was wise enough to follow him out, easing him to the sand when he was driven to his knees again as Seto moved around the back of the car and joined them.  Ryou left his head on the steering wheel knowing that he couldn't do anything for either problem, turning internally to Bakura for advice who was in hysterics now.  

Joey left the three to themselves in the sand and tried to get a look at the engine.  After burning himself on the bonnet six times he managed to kick it open, unleashing a thick, billowing cloud of black smoke.  Couching harshly and fanning his hand at it, he squinted at what was once the engine before turning wary eyes to the pair trying to keep Yami still again.

He was going to have to be the one to tell them and he wasn't overly confident that he was going to live past the end of that sentence.

****

Bakura: (Cackles sadistically)

Yami: (Eyes wide) If I thought it was possible I'd say that I hate you more now than before.

Borath: Well.  That was a long chapter so hopefully I've made amends for the inexcusable delay.  Excuse crappiness and leave me a review so that I'll feel loved.  Next chapter could be at any time (although not anytime soon).  Oh, I need a list of probable names for Yami's son.  Drop me a suggestion and I'll pick one because I can't be arsed to come up with one myself

The real reasons for what the characters are doing;

Why they're coming;

Yami – The reason for the trip and I love the character.  Yami-centric fic after all.

Yugi – He's Yami's hikari. I've been nit-picked for overlooking him too.

Joey – I like his/her speech patterns.  And I like using his idiocy.  Sorry fangirls.

Seto – He bought the plane tickets and I need him for Yami to insult.  And swear at.

Bakura – He's a psycho and I have a whole chapter relying on his involvement left.

Ryou– Bakura's hikari.  A package deal again.

Why they're not;

Tea – I hate her.  Issue closed.

Honda – I don't know what to do with him most of the time.

Mokuba – It's totally pointless for him to come.  He is also annoying.  He stays.

Mai –I don't know what to do with her either so there.  She had a big role in the opening chapters so I haven't exactly neglected her in this fic.

Review, suggest kid's name, make me happy.  Ta!


	26. Separation

Borath:  Look!  Look!  I updated this fic!!!  Yay! Yami: (Scowling) And that brings me much pleasure. 

Borath:  Second-to-last chapter now so reviews are important to keep my spirits up, get the final chapter out soon-

Bakura: Yeah right.

Borath: -and try and get me past the 300 reviews mark.  Seriously, *that* would be cool.

Yami: This took a bloody long time and a lot of effort for her to write so be nice and review.  Maybe she'll feel the urge to get the last chapter written rather than continue 'Experiment'.

Bakura: I feel insulted by that fiction by the way.

Yami:  (Laughing) I made you cry!

Bakura: (On the verge of killing his co-host) At least I'm not dying!

Yami: (0_0) Who said I was in the first place?!  Where is that?!

Bakura: (Looking smug) Let's face it; Borath hates you.  You're all sick in the fic so I wouldn't be surprised if she killed you off for good.  It's not like she hasn't come close to that more than once in the last 25 chapters of this happy-little-romp.

Yami: (Considering) Point.  I'd better not die though.  That would be bad.

Borath: (Frowning slightly as she figures out the warped logic in the latter part of that sentence) Same old song.  Read, review, don't point out my mistakes and e-mail me with a request for the Yami-girl picture.  Swearing is the norm so if you are somehow more sensitive than you were before Chapter 25 then brace yourself.  Not as bad as I have been before in this chapter but still a bit rough.  Humor is more focal in this one than in Kiara's birth.

Oh!  I nearly forgot!  Someone (not me) has written the beginning of the sequel to this series!  Yes!  It's called 'Princess of Games' and I'll post it in my account under the writer's name as soon as possible.  I can't disclose a name yet as I do not know what she wants to go by as a penname.  (Shrugs) I feel extremely smug and flattered though.  The fic is set about fourteen years after this thing happened and follows an alternate ending.  I won't spoil it too much but please check it out when it's up.

Yami: Are you done?

Borath: Not quite.  I'd like to thank all you guys (and gals) who chucked suggestions for names at me, particularly those who sent me Japanese names with their meanings.  It was hard to pick one, particularly between the suggestions from Lfangor and YuNique, but YuNique's suggestion won out.  Thankies!

Bakura: (Right eye twitching) *Now* are you done?

Borath: yes.

Bakura: Right.  Back to the sadistic fun-house which this fic has become then.  ****

Chapter 26: Separation 

Running a hand through his scraggy blond hair nervously, Joey chewed on his bottom lip and debated long and hard how to announce the news.  The town they had been heading for was still a good two miles away and from the look of Yami now he would be hard pressed to be able to walk two meters.  Seto looked extremely anxious and Yugi had moved aside for them, standing by the driver's window and talking to Ryou.

Stepping back a bit from the smoking remains of the engine, he coughed loudly to clear his throat of the foul stuff before waving his hands to get everyone's attention, planning to inform them all now whilst he still had the courage. 

"Um, guys?  I hate to be the one to tell ya this but, um, the engine's dead," Joey said finally, hesitantly, glancing nervously at Yami who had seemed to have taken up cursing every God in the Heavens.

"You mean we're stuck?" Ryou asked incredulous from beside Yugi who had turned white, also eyeing Yami warily.

"I guess so, yeah, unless anyone brought a spare engine wit' them."

"I am *not* having a baby in the middle of the desert!" Yami announced with venom lacing his tone.   He then turned on the second happy father-to-be.  "You bastard!" He screamed eyes wide and practically glowing, the eye of Horus flashing threateningly once again.  Everyone par Seto took a step back.

"Why am I a bastard?!" Seto exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air.

"You did this to me!  Again!!  This is all your fucking fault you insensitive prick!" came the shouted retort.  Yami was unable to continue on his rant for the need to clench his jaw very hard suddenly became overwhelming.

"Oh yes!  Everything is *my* fault!"  The CEO shouted to the sky, eyes matching Yami's in size and intensity now.  "I got you pregnant, I got your Puzzle broke, I brought you to Egypt for an early birth and *now* I give you a busted engine!"

Having planned on no-more-babies for at least another three months Seto had decided to mentally prepare during that period, but having labor chucked in his face without any form of preparation beforehand had evidently caused the poor sod to snap.

"It doesn't matter whose fault this is!" Yugi shouted in an uncharacteristically loud voice, causing everyone's eyes to snap to him in surprise.  "It's happening now and we need to do something.  Yami could die," he trailed off uncomfortably, ducking his head and clenching his fists hard.  Much as he didn't want to think about that fact, it was a possibility that they had to accept.

Ryou looked surprised at that, turning to Yami with concern in his chocolate eyes.  "Could you?  The Puzzle is fixed now."

"Hemorrhaging, shock, the Puzzle can't do anything about those," Yami replied honestly with a slight shrug that caused him to cringe immediately afterwards.  Apparently all forms of movement hurt now, not just most.

"I can call for someone to come here but that could take hours-" Seto began, standing and pacing a little, feeling oddly desperate to take a step back from the situation for a second to think about it.  Worry was clouding his mind now, making finding a solution very difficult.

"-and I don't have that long," Yami snapped, finishing the thought for him.  Everyone immediately turned their attention from Seto to him and he glowered at them slightly.  "Let's be honest about this; someone is going to have to remove this child from my body now.  I barely have the strength to talk at the moment and the longer we wait the harder it's going to be for me to recover afterwards."

Another long silence as everyone thought that over, the sand whistling about them sending granules of sand lashing at their already sun-abused skin, scratching and irritating as they struggled to think.  "There's a knife in the trunk," Seto said finally, sounding defeated.

"Right.  I'm not exactly going to be able to do this to myself, so one of you is going to have to," Yami stated feeling slightly annoyed that he had somehow taken charge all over again.  The latter part of that sentence had been extremely rushed as the pain that seemed to encompass his entire lower half intensified.  Thinking alone was starting to get difficult so everything needed to be sorted out before he could be of no help, not even to himself.  

"I couldn't," Yugi spoke quietly, standing beside Ryou who had stepped out of the car now and was also shaking his head negatively.

"I'm still queasy so I'll probably just chuck-up all over ya.  Sorry Yami," Joey mumbled, avoiding meeting the Game King's eyes as he said that.

"I'll do it then.  The only one left is Bakura and I'll be damned if he goes anywhere near you two with a blade," Seto stated flatly, unconsciously narrowing his eyes at the Ring hanging about Ryou's neck, causing the soft-spoken teen to fidget slightly beneath his gaze.

"Good," Yami bit out between clenched teeth before allowing himself to drop back into the sand entirely, feeling the muscles in his lower back tell him where to stick it and losing strength.  Resting one hand on his stomach, he brought the other up to the bridge of his nose and squeezed hard, hoping to distract his mind from the pain in his abdomen with the one on his face.

"We should do this inside the car.  I'll call for help now; the rest of you help Yami get onto the back seat," Seto instructed already pulling out his cell-phone, moving around to the back of the car to link it up to the equipment in the boot so the signal could be received.  He had made a point of getting a few numbers in case of an emergency in Egypt before they arrived.  Now he was calling in a lot of favors and likely emptying his off-shore account.  Not that that was a problem.  Anything that could be done would be done now.  

"Could someone knock me out?"

All four faces looked down at Yami in confusion, debating whether or not the pain had been too much for the poor guy and he had snapped.  Seto quickly moved so that was knelt beside him, deciding that keeping his lover's mind in tact was more important than calling for assistance at this particular moment.

"Pardon?" Ryou asked cautiously when no one else dared to test the former Pharaoh's sanity.

"I really don't want to be awake for this and seeing that no one is carting any strong herbs or drugs on them, one of you is going to have to hit me hard enough to render me unconscious before you move me and then cut me open," he explained through gritted teeth, crimson eyes clamping shut once again.

"Well I'm not doing it," Yugi stated flatly after a lengthy silence.

"Me neither."

"Nuh uh."

"You'd hit me back later."

Yami growled in frustration as one by one his friends turned him down.  //By Ra!  You'd think that at least one of my friends would want to help me enough to knock me out!//

After another period of silence and a great exchange of various 'Looks' from the assembled group, the Millennium Ring about Ryou's neck shone brightly and Bakura manifested himself at Yami's toes.  Glancing along the form with interest, he looked over at Seto.  "I'll do it."

Seto gave him a suspicious look before nodding hesitatingly.  Glancing about, he saw an almost entirely dead tree a little way to the right of their group.  Walking over to it, he broke off one of the larger and smoother branches before returning and handing it to Bakura.

The platinum-haired Hell-Child grinned broadly and moved to Yami's head before raising the end of the stick to the skies and bringing it down hard.

A pause.

"You didn't do it hard enough!" Yugi exclaimed, staring at Bakura in outrage and panic after seeing the all-new, dazed look on Yami's face, and the discoloration on his temple that promised to be an impressive bruise given time.

"Yeah," he acknowledged, staring down at the sweat-littered face blankly.   A beat.  "Let's fix the engine and run him over."

"What?!  Why?!" Seto exclaimed loudly, yanking the stick out of Bakura's hands before he tried this apparently ineffectual course of action again.

"Well, he'd be unconscious," he stated perfectly reasonably.

"No one is running over Yami.  End of discussion," Yugi said seriously, looking up pointedly at Bakura who just crossed his arms and glared back down at him.  

Yami made a sound that was somewhere between surprise, pain and a plea for death.  Seto knelt down again and took one of his hands in his own, grimacing at the lack of strength he felt when Yami squeezed.

Bakura sighed loudly and rolled his eyes, crouching down opposite Seto ignoring the death glare that he was being sent.  Reaching out a hand, he placed his middle and forefinger in the hollow at the base of his throat and closed his eyes, gathering up his magical energies.  He wasn't doing this out of sympathy or to help the former-Pharaoh; the pained-noises that Yami was making were just really starting to piss him off.

Wielding the energies he had gathered with a skill that can only come with time, he sent a bolt of it down into the body his hand was against and opened his eyes just in time to see Yami's roll back.  Sitting back, he awaited a reaction from the others.

"You could do that all along?!" Seto practically screamed, his expression incredulous, angry and shocked as he stared at the Tomb Raider.  Dropping the now limp hand he searched frantically for a pulse, finding one strong and steady beneath Yami's jaw signaling that he was unharmed.  Only unconscious.

"Yup," Bakura replied looking a bit smug.

"Then why did you hit him?!" 

A shrug.  "For fun." 

Resisting the urge to throttle the spirit, Seto shifted his hands beneath Yami's form and hefted his now greater weight up, moving him into the back of the car before telling Yugi and Ryou to dig up some clean blankets and water.  Joey was put under strict instructions to keep Bakura *away* from Yami whilst the CEO made a few necessary phone calls to try and get a helicopter or similar out here.

Then the real fun would begin.

****

Awareness of the world returned in dribs and drabs, the sound of monitors bleeping irritatingly the first thing that Yami noticed.  Opening his eyes for the sole purpose of locating the sources of those sounds so that he could destroy them, he found himself in a painfully stark white hospital room, the smell of disinfectant invading his senses and making his already pounding head spin.

Sitting up was less painful than he had anticipated, only a twinge of fire lacing around his stomach where he had expected the full agony that he had been experiencing some unknown hours ago.  Touching the sore flesh of his now flat stomach gingerly, Yami glanced about himself to try and locate his son.  Panic surged through him when he could see no sign of him, his fear moving him to awaken his Hikari who was sleeping with his head pillowed on his folded arms on the bed at his side.

"Aibou?"

The small teen snapped awake instantly, glancing around himself groggily before meeting Yami's gaze and practically beaming.  Lunging forward, he wrapped his arms around his Dark's neck, almost sobbing with relief.  "I'm so glad you're okay!   We were all so worried!  You've been unconscious for three days."

//Three-?//

Panic lanced through Yami's being and he pulled back from Yugi quickly, meeting violet eyes intently.  "Where's the baby?  What happened?"

Yugi grabbing his clenched hands firmly, trying to relay reassurance as he spoke.  "Everything's fine.  Kiseki was sick by the time we got back to the hospital and they couldn't help him here so Seto flew with him to the capital yesterday morning.  They're going to meet us in Japan; he needs specialist care.  Our flights are booked in two days but we can change them if you're not up to traveling.  With the Puzzle fixed now Bakura said that you'd be fine within a few days anyway."

Yami nodded blankly accepting the latter part of that as true.  He just wanted to get home now and see Kiara again, as well as seeing his son for the first time *outside* his body. 

//Kiseki? 'Miracle'?  An appropriate name to be sure.//

Nodding slightly now that his immediate questions had been answered, Yami leant back slightly and adjusted his weight against the soft pillows beneath him.  Although his strength had returned, there was still a degree of tiredness that he couldn't argue with at the moment.  "Who named him?"

Yugi smiled slightly and his eyes shied away.  "You'll never believe me."

"Yugi…" Yami droned out warningly.

His hikari laughed slightly at his serious tone, meeting his eyes again for the simply reason of gauging his reaction.  "Bakura."

//Well.  I didn't expect that.//  "What?!"

"He didn't *exactly* name him.  He just said that him being born at all 'was a bloody miracle' and Seto picked it up from there.  We were all really worried about you though.  You lost a lot of blood and no one came for hours to help afterwards.  You're okay now right though, aren't you?"

Yami smiled softly at the show of concern, losing his fingers in his Aibou's hair for a few moments.  "Fine Little Light.  Tired, but fine.  Give me a few more hours to rest and then we can get going."

Yugi nodded slightly before squeezing Yami's hand a final time and tearing out of the room, obviously eager to inform Joey and Ryou of Yami's return to the world of the waking.  Yami shifted slightly in the narrow bed, seeking a apposition where his body was comfortable enough to allow the darkness permeating the edges of his vision to engulf him completely.  

Laying his hands across his stomach, he felt a twinge of sadness in knowing that Kiseki would be the last to ever reside there.  On the one hand he was happy; after having two children knocking around inside his gut he knew the discomfort that was suffered through pregnancy *quite* well.  But on the other there was no way he would be able to bring another child into the world, not without screwing up the Puzzle's magical conduits again at least.

Sighing and cursing the fact that his brain was still active when the rest of body was in favor of passing out again, the Game King settled himself amongst the sheets, consoling himself that he would be seeing his son for the first time soon and he would be reunited with both Kiara and Seto.

****

//Sleeping in hospital beds is not funny.  This I can say with absolute certainty now.  When you are exhausted and just happy to be in the reclining position, then they are the most comfortable things in the world.  When you wake up however, refreshed and alert after a further day's rest, they feel as if nine-inch nails are inserted into the mattress along with solid concrete globules and some kind of detergent that I am obviously allergic to.  It took four hours for my Puzzle to get me to stop sneezing and the rash to go away.

Still, the *worst* thing happened at the airport.  I had my ticket in my hand and was ready to get onto the plane that would take me back to my family only to feel the strangest burning sensation coming from my pocket.  Pulling out my deck, it took me a whole three seconds to 'feel' that a card was missing, and a bloody important one at that.  

I'd left Tetsuo in the Temple.

Yugi wanted to come with me but I need him to make sure that Kiseki and Kiara are all right as well as Seto.  There's no reason for him to accompany me and I refused to leave the monster behind so there was no way that I was heading back to Japan.

I was the only one that could remove him from the alter simply because I'm the only one he answers to, so I had to exchange my plane ticket for another that leaves in a days time.  I didn't know my way around the Temple well enough to be able to traverse it on my own though, which meant that Bakura had no choice but to come with me.

I'm as happy with this situation as he is by the way.

Getting back to the Temple and the card out of the stone indentation wasn't difficult giving that the energies that bind the two released when I touched the surface.  Tetsuo had activated himself again at some point because he was sat there patiently when we got inside.  He didn't say anything and as I had been bracing myself for a verbal assault, his lack of response was very unnerving.

Still, he looked annoyed at being forgotten and didn't speak as he returned to his card.  I checked that he was still in my deck twice as Bakura led the way back out of the intricate maze that are the Temple's passageways.  

The sun is insanely bright again and, as neither of us can drive, we had to use camels to get here which means riding for hours again in the blistering heat to get back to the town, and then to catch the bus that will take us to the airport.  Wrapped in white cloth to shield us, we aren't in any danger.  Our bodies are well adjusted to this harsh climate and now that I'm no longer pregnant, the heat isn't a problem.  Still, riding an animal that delights in spitting at me with only Bakura for company is not my idea of a good time.//

****

"Are you sure this is the right place?  It doesn't look like the area that we set off from," Yami asked with a note of concern in his voice, glancing around himself nervously at what could only be described as the biggest flea market in the world.

Bakura looked admittedly anxious as he stepped off of his mount, squinting around in the bright sunlight for some kind of sign as his camel rose back onto its feet.  Finding one, he rooted around in the pack slung to the side of the camel for a map, tracing it with his finger lightly and murmuring to himself as he continued to look around.  

"Hand me the place tickets," he instructed firmly, his eyes still on the map.

"Why?" Yami countered suspiciously.  He was not entirely happy with the idea of risking his passage home in the hands of the Tomb Raider.

The platinum-haired spirit rolled his eyes with a sigh before meeting his gaze.  "Because I need to check the bloody address.  The spelling isn't exactly normal and there are three places around here that go by a similar name."

"Why don't you just look for the airport sign on the map?"

"You think it's that advanced?  Heck, the *desert* isn't bloody labeled on here.  Now give me the bloody tickets.

Yami growled in his throat slightly, not happy with the way this argument had gone.  "Fine."

Producing the slips of paper from his pocket, he leaned forward to hand them down to the other spirit stood at his camel's side.  Unfortunately, said camel swung its head around and snatched the tickets out of his fingers milliseconds before they could enter Bakura's hand.  Making a point to chew them up slowly and deliberately in front of them, it then faced forward and spat at Bakura's camel.

The second animal, not taking to being spat in the eye by its companion, bellow loudly and stepped at the camel Yami was still sat on imposingly which caused it to take several steps back.  In shock still from seeing the tickets being chewed and swallowed, Yami was unable to adjust his balance as the beast moved violently beneath him and found himself slipping off and landing hard on Bakura.

Lying in a stunned heap in the sand, the pair cringed away from and watched the two camels kick at each other before they both trotted away.  Swallowing several times and bringing his fingers to the bridge of his nose to squeeze firmly, Bakura was the first to speak.  "What the hell do we do now?"

Still gaping, it took a few moments for Yami to form words himself.  "Walk I think.  Now that that *fucking*** **creature  *ate* our tickets home."

"Walk back to Japan?"

"We'll try the airport.  We can use the money Yugi gave me to get a new set of tickets, or phone home and ask for help."

"The money that Kaiba gave you?"

"That's right."

"The money which is in the saddle bag if the camel that just ran off?"

"That's-damnit!"

//Breath in, breath out, repeat.  This is alright.  It isn't going to kill me.//  Looking back to Bakura who seemed on the verge of the mass-homicide of camels everywhere, he rapidly reconsidered that thought.  //Okay, *it* won't kill me but *he* will probably *try*.  Stupid Tomb Raider.//

"Idiot Pharaoh."

Ignoring that, Yami shoved Bakura's elbow from out of stomach and glanced around himself, searching the street for inspiration and finding none.  "So.  What do you propose we do now?"

"Well you can get off me for a start.  You may not be banged up anymore but you're still heavy."

Standing with a glower, Yami brushed the dirt and sand from his clothes half-heartedly and watched as Bakura did the same.  Planting his hands on his hips, he pursed his lips before stating what was on his mind in the most eloquent manner possible.

"We're screwed, aren't we?"

"Most definitely."

****

Borath: Final chapter soon.  Well.  Not that soon; as soon as I have written it.  Keep an eye on my bio as the stat' report for it will be kept up to date. 

Yami: Review.  Please.

Bakura: I would say something but I'm still trying to figure out how she's going to finish all this in *one* chapter given the ending of this one.

Yami: Probably in a phenomenally crap way.

Borath: (Lips pursed and nodding slowly) You may be right.  Ah well.  Reviews make me happy and give me incentive to write so click that nice little button and bring me joy.


	27. Explanations

Borath: Here it is!  The final chapter of Game Queen and Then Some.  Even now I still hate the title.  Nothing better struck me though so it stays.  

Bakura:  Over 300 reviews now-

Borath: -you have no idea how smug I feel being able to say that.

Bakura: -so I guess that trying to push for 400 is asking a bit much, neh?

Yami: Um… Yeah.  Epilogue will be in the form of a new fic by a new author-

Borath: -who is not me.

Yami: Will you stop bloody interrupting!  Anyway, Princess of Games is either

A) In production by the lovely person across the Atlantic who can watch Season 2 of Yu-Gi-Ph whilst I can't and will be posted sometime next year.

Or

B) Up now so go look for it.

Borath: Thank you so much for bearing with me through all of this and particularly to all of those who reviewed me.  There are way too many of you to list (How smug am I to be able to say that?  You couldn't comprehend :D) so I send a general 'thanks!' and hope to hear from you in other reviews for other fics (Hint hint).

Yami: On with the end!  Yay!

Borath: Excuse crapness and go away if swearing offends you which it shouldn't anymore after the last 26 profanities-I mean chapters.

Chapter 27: Explanations 

It had been almost three weeks now since they left Bakura and Yami in Egypt.  When the plane had finally arrived minus its oldest passengers, Seto, Yugi and Ryou had rapidly become worried but as the Hikaris could still feel their Darks' presence's, there was no pressing need to fly back to Egypt.  

Indeed, Seto refused to leave the hospital for the first week, Kiseki having needed specialist treatment before being released into his care.  Mokuba had been thrilled at his new nephew, but was as concerned as all the others over the lack of the father's presence, apparently in the country.  

Yugi spent much of his time at the Kaiba mansion, as did Ryou, deciding that it would be the first place that the yamis would go to when they did finally turn up.  And, late one obscenely sunny morning, they were proved to be correct.

****

Light footsteps down the stairs behind him alerted Yugi of Seto's approach and he twisted in the chair to face the CEO with Ryou.  "Did he keep it all down?"

Nodding with a thin, parental smile, Seto moved briefly into the kitchen to discard the empty bottle before joining the trio in the living room, dropping down beside his brother facing the two Hikaris.  "He's sleeping now and so's Kiara.  She's got her mobile playing so she'll be fine for a few hours."

Yugi nodded slightly with a slight smile of his own before fingering the Puzzle absently.  "I'm sure Yami'll be back soon.  Something's going on, I can tell; I've been feeling him stronger over the last few days."

Leaning forward in the seat, the tall brunette brought his fists to his temples.  "I know Yugi.  You've said that all week and all week we've been waiting with no sign.  And I left him there with one of the few people he could seriously gut."

Ryou quirked a mildly surprised brow at Seto, smiling grimly to himself as he imagined all the things that his yami was likely doing to try and get under the former Pharaoh's skin.  Opposite him, Mokuba brought a hand up to his brother's back and murmured comfort and reassurance.  They were all worried but the trio around him were taking it the hardest.

All were jolted out of their musings by a sudden glow from the Ring, the metal glowing brightly and emitting a soft humming sound as all five prongs rose and pointed in the direction of the front door.  Barely daring to believe, all four of the teens leapt to their feet and sprinted at it, Seto getting there first with his significantly longer strides and flinging it open.  

Not seeing anything in the immediate vicinity of the house, he squinted slightly and gazed down the path, spotting two figures slowly making their way up the gravel, their shoulders brushing and voices loud.

"You erased their minds?!  We've been stuck with each other for three damn weeks and you never told me?" Yami shouted in outrage, looking to the Tomb Raider at his side as he walked, not having looked up at the house yet.  Exhaustion from their travels had taken a significant toll on his ability to move but not on his ability to yell.  Reaching a hand up, he fingered the deep scratch that curved along his entire left cheekbone.  The Puzzle had prevented infection from setting in but it still stung.

"Well what else were we going to do?  Just let them walk away thinking, 'yeah.  We just saved a guy's life after he gave birth.'  Nothing strange about that, nope," Bakura shot back, his hands in his pockets as he walked.  Tired and irritable, he wasn't overly excited about being surrounded by a horde of happy people, not that he wouldn't mind seeing his Hikari again after so long.  "I did you a favor, loath as I am to admit it, by wiping their minds."

"No wonder Tetsuo said that you were misusing that Ring of yours."

"It's actually a little creepy that he could tell."

"Yami!"

"Bakura!"

Both spirits stopped in their tracks, apparently their minds having wandered from exactly where their feet had taken them.  Grinning, Yami gratefully accepted the embrace that he instantly found himself in from both Yugi and Seto.  

Bakura froze in surprise when he found Ryou's arms around his neck, bringing a hesitant hand up to the soft-spoken teen's shoulder for a moment before placing it there awkwardly.  As soon as the sentiment was acknowledged he backed off though, glowering at his Light lightly even though there was a hint of a smile gracing his features. 

"I'm so glad you're alright.  And you Bakura I suppose.  We were worried," Mokuba stated when everyone finally separated themselves from each other.  A thought flashed across Yami's mind and he gripped Seto's arms anxiously.  "Kiseki?"

"He's fine.  Everyone's fine.  Come on, you can meet him now.  He's just eaten so he'll be sleeping but I think we can wake him up considering."  

Trailing behind the pair whose arms were now intertwined with Yugi at Yami's side, Ryou glanced across Bakura's face and frowned slightly at the shiny-scar on the underside of his jaw.  "Yami?  What exactly happened when you two were gone?"  Sniffing the air as an afterthought his nose crinkled.  "And why do you smell of fish?"

The spirit made a long suffering sigh before nodding towards Yami who was now almost at the house in his haste to reach the rest of his family.  "That is the short-arse's story as much as mine.  It'll take a while to explain and I wanna use up Kaiba's water supply before I even open my mouth for an explanation."

Wisely doing nothing more than nod, Ryou continued walking silently wondering how much of this he actually wanted to hear.

****

It took three hours to get both yamis into the living room with everyone assembled to tell the tale of their obviously eventful return, and *not* because it took the group a while to get together; they arrived as soon as possible after receiving an excited phone-call from Yugi shouting that Yami was back… And Bakura was too…

No, it was the fact that it took an hour and a half for Yami to bond with Kiseki enough to actually put him down and let him sleep, something that the small child desperately wanted to do.  Kiara had toddled in insane, hyperactive circles for an hour around her newly returned father and as a result had exhausted herself, but Yami wasn't going to be separated from her again without a fight.  

Seto wouldn't let Bakura anywhere near the living room stinking of fish and sea water, even though Yami was in much the same state, so twenty minutes of scrubbing with boiling water and sweet smelling foam was in order for both of them.  Neither complained; they were ecstatic to even be *near* a shower again.

With everyone sat on the numerous seats or throw-pillows, the two spirits stood before them all ready to be interrogated. After numerous exclamations of joy at their return //Or quiet statements of dismay that he was still alive concerning Bakura from the moron with suicidal tendencies who shall not be named// everyone settled down and waited for them to tell their tale.  Apparently neither Yami nor Bakura were too eager to start.

It was Joey who had the guts to prompt them.

"What took you guys so long to get back here anyway?" Joey asked, voicing all of their curiosity.

The tension inside the room suddenly escalated very noticeably.  No-one dared to breathe.

Yami and Bakura exchanged truly hateful looks before, as Yami has come to know him, 'the platinum-haired-bastard' began rather aggressively, "Well, if *genius* here hadn't lost the plane tickets-"

"I did not *lose* the plane tickets.  That camel I rode *ate* the tickets and I for one wasn't going to wait around to get them *back*."  Taking crimson eyes practically burning off of the Tomb Raider, Yami turned to address the group as a whole.  "So then we decided to take a boat back."

"Except for that whole 'we had no money and Yami wouldn't let me steal' issue."

"So what did you do?" Yugi asked, sounding fully intrigued now.

Both yamis had the grace to look embarrassed.  "Well, the Captain decided he liked us, well me because I saved him from Nimrod here who thought that if he hit him then he could steal the boat and drive us back home himself.  Anyway, he gave us free passage in exchange for being on the entertainment list."

Bakura snorted loudly as he crossed his arms.  "Yeah, and that went fan-fucking-tastic, didn't it?"

Eyes wide, Yami turned on the other viciously.  "*You* were just so phenomenally crap at it that it all went to Hades within minutes!  And we weren't so much as a fifteen-minute diversion as a twenty-four hour pitched battle in the dining room!  It was awful!"

"Look!  I was alright up until the Sword Swallowing!"

The group, it was obvious now, had been forgotten entirely.

"*That* was the first item!"  Yami shouted back with venom before narrowing his eyes, his voice taking on a more patronizing tone as he continued.  "And you're supposed to swallow the sword *yourself*-"

Bakura looked genuinely surprised.  Yami continued despite it. "-Not skewer some innocent by-stander in the front row!"

"She was gagging for it!  She had her mouth hanging wide open," the other spirit shot back in defense.

"She was in shock at how brightly your damn ring was glowing!"

"Well I was pretty pissed off!  What did you expect!"

Shaking his head to dismiss that aspect of the argument, Yami swiftly moved on.  "The Disappearing Rabbits were a nightmare because of you!"

Bakura blinked looking more exasperated now than angry.  "They disappeared."

"Yeah because you threw them into the fucking *audience*!!"

"Hey! They re-appeared!"

"Yes, because they fucking threw them *back*!"

Bakura crossed his arms again now, a sly smile coming onto his features. "Well it was *you* who sawed the captain in half."

Yami flushed before turning away slightly, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "*He* was a volunteer."

Bakura was only too keen to correct that. "No-no, *he* was trying to stop the show."

"Whatever.  The trick worked brilliantly though!  We sawed him in half!"

"I think that the essence of the trick, Little Pharaoh, is in the 'joining back together again'."

Yami simply waved that bit of information off.  "Details, details.  It's the 'sawing in half' where the real drama lies, and we accomplished that with panache."  

"No we bloody didn't!  We were hacking away at him for hours!"

"Yes, I know, I know.  It's just, well I'm not as good at the physical murdering-type stuff as you are.  And the blood caused the chain-saw to pack up.  I *told* you that we should have used the petrol one."

Bakura now looked a little distressed at that idea.  "Petrol, is very, very dangerous on stage."

"Oh yes!" Yami cried, eyes widening as the memories continued.  "As we found out, didn't we?  When you crashed that motorcycle and sidecar you stole into the music stand during the Curtain of Death finale!"

Bakura's eyes dropped to his feet for a moment, his boots scuffing the ground and his hands shoved into his pockets.  "Was a bloody good light show; lit up the sea for miles around."

"Yes, and then you had that brainy idea of sinking the ship to put out the fire."

"It worked.  I kept making a hole until the water came in."

Yami frowned a little at that in confusion.  "I thought you said that you fucked the boat to fill it with water?"

"I did."

"But then how-?"

"Look, I took this axe and hacked away until there was this bloody great big hole and then thought, 'yeah, *that's* fucked it'."

"So then the passengers chased us around the deck and hit us with the oars to prevent us from getting into the lifeboats," Yami continued, finally remembering their audience and turning back to the rest of the gang who all looked utterly bemused.

"Then we spent the next seven hours on the verge of pneumonia clinging to a single lifejacket between us until a fishing boat picked us up."

"You actually *shared* a lifejacket," Honda asked incredulously.

Yami and Bakura both snapped sharp eyes onto him with a mutual intensity before Yami spoke.  "We will *die* before we go into details about *that*."  They glanced at each other before shuddering slightly and taking a step back.

"Then we got dragged for a few miles in a net trying not to drown until one of the idiots on board noticed us and hauled us on board.  Then we stuck with them until they dumped us on the coast and a little while after that we arrived here."

"Stinking of fish but welcome all the same," Seto spoke up affectionately, though it was obvious that that was directed at Yami rather than Bakura.  Grinning, Yami walked over and dropped down into the taller teen's lap, curling up instantly in his arms and generally looking happy.

Bakura crossed his arms with a quirked brow before disappearing into the kitchen to see what food was in the house.  He had been through quite and ordeal after all and a little compensation was in order!  It had been Yami's fault that he had ended up stuck in Egypt in the first place anyway.  There was no reason that he shouldn't pilfer some food and a *bit* of booze off of the Pharaoh's lover.

Foraging through the cupboards, he found a nice bottle of tequila hidden away in the back, pouring himself a shot before taking the bottle by the neck and returning to the group. Overall he decided that the last two years hadn't been that bad.  Quite interesting actually.  Lots of blackmailing opportunities in the future now and he knew to avoid any cursed springs like the plague.  

And the tequila was good too.  Not too bad a few years at all.

****

YVO

//Well, at the end of every little adventure, this one having been the insanity which is usually my *life*, there is some sort of moral.  What have I learned over the last two years?  Well, alcohol can lead to more than just pregnancy, curses should be taken *very* seriously no matter how absurd they are and breathing lessons are more useful than you'd think at certain times.

I've got a great life ahead of me now with two beautiful kids, a devoted lover, a flourishing Hikari, a house with a dueling arena inside which is just fantasticand all my male attributes back where they should be without a threat of disappearing on me again any time soon.  

Next time though Seto is going in the spring and he can go through all this crap himself because I'll be damned if I have to go through labour again.//

End

Borath: Oh Holy Fuck I finished it!  I did it!  It's done!  End!  Fini!  Um… I forget the rest but I did it!

Bakura: The ending is shite.

Borath: Sod you it's done.

Yami: Review and be glad this wasn't abandoned!  It very nearly was on at least four occasions.

Borath: Thanks again to everyone who has been reading this and particularly to those of you who have been reviewing often.  I hope you've enjoyed reading this.

Yami: For the oh-so-frickin-hilarious picture of me in female form send a request to borath84@hotmail.com and you'll get a reply as soon as possible.

Borath:  Thanks again!!  Yay!  It's done!

Bakura: Now she's free to torture me in other new and exciting ways.  Fan-bloody-tastic.

Borath: Oh.  For copy-right purposes I should say that most of the argument between Yami and Bakura was adapted from an onstage barney in the show 'Hooligan's Island' by the makers of Bottom, Adrian Edmonson and Rick Mayhall.  They are funny and this is a bit of a tribute to them.  It seemed appropriate so I hope you found it as amusing to read as I did to write!


End file.
